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<\/p>\nThe Manhattan-sized interstellar object 3I\/ATLAS will buzz past Mars this week \u2014 making its closest pass to any planet on its route as scientists are rushing to coordinate crafts to observe the phenomenon.<\/p>\n
3I\/ATLAS will begin its pass by the Red Planet Wednesday and will be closest on Friday \u2014 reaching just over 18.5 million miles away, according to the European Space Agency.<\/p>\n
The entire progression will be observed by the ESA\u2019s orbiters the Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter as well as NASA\u2019s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter which will utilize the cutting edge HiRISA camera to get the clearest images yet of the rock.<\/p>\n
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Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who believes the interstellar object could be alien technology, stated the new images will help solve the mysterious object which first popped into view on July 1.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe highest resolution image so far was obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 21, 2025, when 3I\/ATLAS was at a distance of 570 million kilometers. This is 20 times farther than the closest approach of 3I\/ATLAS to Mars,\u201d Loeb told The Post.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe brightest pixel in the HiRISE image would gauge the surface area of 3I\/ATLAS and therefore its diameter. In a recent paper, I derived that the diameter of 3I\/ATLAS is larger than 5 kilometers, larger than the width of Manhattan island,\u201d Loeb said.<\/p>\n
Loeb pointed out the massive size difference between 3I\/ATLAS and the first observed interstellar object \u2014 Oumuamua \u2014 which was merely the size of a football field and the second interstellar object \u2014 Borisov \u2014 which had a diameter of just .04 kilometers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is the third interstellar object 3I\/ATLAS a million times more mass than the first one? The image of HiRISE might exacerbate or weaken the discrepancy,\u201d Loeb said. \u201cTime will tell.\u201d<\/p>\n
New analysis of the anomalous rock conducted by the astrophysicist suggested that the object is even larger than initially thought \u2014 and could weigh in at 33 billion tons.<\/p>\n
Following its close pass to Mars, 3I\/ATLAS will come to its closest proximity to the Sun on Oct. 30 \u2014 when it will pass from observational view from the vantage of Earth.<\/p>\n
Professor Loeb previously claimed \u201cif the object makes a maneuver on October 29 the stock market will crash.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, between Nov. 2 and 25 the European Space Agency\u2019s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer \u2014 called Juice \u2014 will begin its observation as 3I\/ATLAS approaches and passes Jupiter on its way out of our Solar System.<\/p>\n