Interstellar object 3I\/ATLAS is expected to make its closest pass of the Earth just under a month from now, coming within around 170 million miles of us.<\/p>\n
Three months later, it\u2019s expected to get even closer to Jupiter as it continues on its highly eccentric path through the solar system.<\/p>\n
And as Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb \u2014 who has long championed the theory<\/a> that 3I\/ATLAS could be an alien spacecraft, to the increasing dismay<\/a> of the mainstream research community \u2014 points out on his blog<\/a>, recent \u201cnon-gravitational acceleration<\/a>\u201d seems to have nudged it toward a fascinating region of Jupiter\u2019s orbit.<\/p>\n Specifically, it\u2019s going to zip right past Jupiter\u2019s Hill radius, the boundary inside which the gas giant can keep an object in its own orbit without it being stolen by the Sun.<\/p>\n In the Earth\u2019s vicinity, Lagrange points L1 and L2 are close to the boundary of our planet\u2019s Hill radius, a perfect place of equilibrium for satellites and other human-made objects, such as the James Webb Space Telescope, to orbit the Sun while using minimal amounts of fuel.<\/p>\n Loeb suggests that if it is indeed an alien spacecraft, 3I\/ATLAS could be passing through Jupiter\u2019s Hill radius to \u201cseed\u201d the planet with \u201ctechnological devices.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf we find technological satellites of Jupiter that we did not send, it would imply that Jupiter is of interest to an extraterrestrial civilization,\u201d Loeb wrote.<\/p>\n But not everybody\u2019s on board, including NASA. In light of considerable evidence that the mysterious visitor is a comet made of ice and dust, NASA associate administrator Amit Kshatriya preemptively shut down Loeb\u2019s theorizing<\/a> during a recent announcement, angering him in the process<\/a>.<\/p>\n During its closest approach to the Sun last month, 3I\/ATLAS got a push in the form of \u201cnon-gravitational acceleration.\u201d While a more conventional explanation would suggest the Sun\u2019s radiation heated the object up, causing it to lose more mass and thereby accelerate, Loeb suggested at the time<\/a> that it could \u201cbe the technological signature of an internal engine.\u201d<\/p>\n Intriguingly, that extra push will allow it to get within around 53 million miles of Jupiter on March 16, which also happens to be within just 160,000 miles of the planet\u2019s Hill radius.<\/p>\n \u201cIn other words, the non-gravitational acceleration introduced a small course correction of exactly the magnitude needed to bring the minimum distance of 3I\/ATLAS from Jupiter to the value of Jupiter\u2019s Hill radius,\u201d Loeb wrote. \u201c3I\/ATLAS would have missed the edge of the Hill sphere otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n Therefore, Loeb suggested that 3I\/ATLAS\u2019 \u201clevel of non-gravitational acceleration was finely tuned\u201d with the help of thrusters to meet the \u201cradius of Jupiter\u2019s gravitational influence.\u201d<\/p>\n The astronomer reiterated that NASA\u2019s Juno spacecraft, which has been orbiting Jupiter since 2016, should have a closer look at 3I\/ATLAS in the spring.<\/p>\n Loeb also argued that scientists should remain humble and not jump to conclusions by arguing that the only possibility is that 3I\/ATLAS is a natural comet. For one, if we were to find \u201ctechnological satellites\u201d in the orbit of our solar system\u2019s largest planet \u2014 and not around Earth \u2014 it could serve as a \u201cblow to our ego, akin to attending a party where nobody is interested in dancing with us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPerhaps this is because the human species arrived late to the party \u2014 only a few million years ago, whereas Jupiter \u2014 the biggest planet in the Solar system, was visible to the senders of 3I\/ATLAS when the mission was launched billions of years ago,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n