Avi Loeb: 3I/ATLAS Is 'Like A Detective Story,' Verdict 'Still Out'

Is it just an icy visitor from the depths of space, or could it be something more? The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is proving to be a cosmic riddle, and Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb is calling out colleagues who automatically dismiss his theories that it may be more than a simple comet. (The article should state who or what discovered 3I/ATLAS and when, to give context on how long it has been observed).

For months, Loeb has intrigued the public with his observations about what he says is a potential alien vessel passing through our solar system, citing the object's myriad anomalies.

A Detective Story: Why 3I/ATLAS and Avi Loeb Challenge the Norm

Among the mysteries of 3I/ATLAS are its unusually large size (How large is it compared to typical comets? Providing an estimated size or comparison is crucial), and odd [hyperlink for 'chemical signatures'] (What specific chemicals were found, or not found, that make its signature 'odd'?), and the stream-like jets coming from the surface reminiscent of rocket 'thrusters', Loeb says.

'The verdict is still out, and I'm very much looking forward to getting more data in the coming weeks', Loeb told on Saturday.

'You know, that's the way science should be done. It's like a detective story, and any of my colleagues who claim to know it's a comet of a type that is familiar to us is not really curious or imaginative about nature'.

Awaiting Evidence: 3I/ATLAS and Avi Loeb vs. The Sceptics

More data may be coming soon. Loeb says he has heard that NASA is finally preparing to release high-resolution images of 3I/ATLAS that were taken from Mars on Oct. 2, which may have got bogged down in the government shutdown. The information may come as soon as next week, he said.

'Let's just keep our fingers crossed', Loeb said.

[Hyperlink for NASA] says 3I/ATLAS is a comet that poses no threat to the Earth when the object reaches its nearest point to us—170 million miles away—in mid-December.

Other experts suggest Loeb's points have been overstated, although some appreciate the way he has stimulated the collective imagination. (What is the specific, standard scientific explanation for the anomalies Loeb points out? The article needs to include the sceptics' direct scientific counter-argument, not just their opinion of Loeb).

Whether 3I/ATLAS is a mundane (if distant) comet, as most experts believe, or the 'something else' that Avi Loeb champions, its journey highlights the tension between known science and the tantalising possibility of the unknown. As the world awaits the new data from NASA, the verdict on this interstellar detective story is, as Loeb says, 'still out'.