Theoretical physicist Avi Loeb has hit back at NASA after the space agency claimed interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is a comet, insisting it could be an alien mothership on a reconnaissance mission
New images of ‘spaceship’ 3I/Atlas have been released(Image: David Jewitt and Jane Luu)
The extraterrestrial spacecraft that NASA insists isn’t an alien spaceship is, in fact, still an alien spaceship – according to one expert. A tug-of-war has been ongoing for months between NASA and scientist Avi Loeb over the enigmatic space object (likely a comet) named 3I/Atlas.
The composition of this interstellar visitor has left scientists scratching their heads for months. While some experts believe it’s a comet, theoretical physicist Loeb suggests it could be an alien “mothership” on a scouting mission as it zooms through our Solar System at a whopping 130,000mph.
Even SpaceX boss Elon Musk has admitted it could be of alien origin and has urged space authorities to keep tabs on its trajectory to ensure we know where it’s headed.
READ MORE: Expert says glowing alien ship with seven jets is passing the sunREAD MORE: Elon Musk says 3I/ATLAS space object ‘could be alien’ and ‘kill most of human life’
However, during a press conference hosted by NASA last night, the space agency’s Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya quickly set the record straight.
NASA Shares Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Images(Image: NASA)
While he didn’t explicitly say “alien spaceship”, he made it clear that NASA believes it moves and behaves like a comet.
But Loeb has fired back – armed with potential historical evidence – and criticized NASA for essentially taking the path of least resistance during the press conference, reports the Daily Star.
In his latest blog post, the Israeli scientist stated: “NASA’s representatives should have emphasized what we do not understand about 3I/ATLAS rather than insist that it is a familiar comet from a new birth environment.
The interstellar comet 3I/Atlas streaks through space, 190 million miles from Earth, on Wednesday, Nov. 19(Image: AP)
“They stated that 3I/ATLAS does what comets do, namely shed gas and dust and responds to gravity.
“But a spacecraft that collected dust and CO2, CO and H2O ices on its surface by travelling through the cold interstellar medium could have also developed an outer layer of dust mixed with ices that sublimate when illuminated by sunlight.
“We should not ‘judge a book by its cover,’ because we all know about the Trojan Horse which appeared unthreatening to the guardians of the City of Troy.
NASA believes it moves and behaves like a comet(Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
“When monitoring an interstellar visitor, we should not fall prey to traditional thinking but scrutinise new interpretations – the public resonates with science as a learning experience, where the collection of evidence leads the way to new knowledge rather than reinforces variants on past knowledge.”
He subsequently branded NASA experts “bureaucrats or unimaginative scientists” and urged the space agency to investigate whether any fresh objects have tagged along with the comet/spacecraft or broken away from it since beginning its trek toward Earth.
However, as the saying goes, the truth is out there – and this time, it could be heading our way.