❓WHAT HAPPENED: Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is set to reach its perihelion, the closest point to the Sun on its trajectory, on October 29.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, NASA scientist Tom Statler, and the broader scientific community.
📍WHEN & WHERE: October 29, 2025; the object is currently on the opposite side of the Sun relative to Earth.
💬KEY QUOTE: “If you want to take a vacation, take it before [October 29], because who knows what will happen?” – Avi Loeb
🎯IMPACT: Loeb’s theory of extraterrestrial origin has sparked debate, but most scientists believe 3I/ATLAS is a natural comet.
The mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is expected to reach the nearest point to the Sun on October 29, following its unusual trajectory through the solar system. Currently, the object is opposite the Earth on the other side of the Sun. While most scientists have concluded that 3I/ATLAS is a comet comprising carbon dioxide ice, Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb continues to suggest that the object could be an extraterrestrial “mothership” sent by an intelligent civilization.
As evidence of his claim—which some critics suggest is more of a publicity stunt than a serious proposal—Loeb notes the interstellar object’s unusual trajectory given its size, and claims the object’s path, taking it close to Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, may be more than “extremely rare coincidences.”
Late Thursday, Loeb wrote in a post on Medium, “If you want to take a vacation, take it before [October 29], because who knows what will happen?” He elaborated on the potential for the object to use the Sun’s gravitational pull to accelerate or slow down, referencing the Oberth effect, a principle in physics that allows a spacecraft to generate more energy when its engine is fired at higher speeds.
“If 3I/ATLAS is a massive mothership, it will likely continue along its original gravitational path and ultimately exit the Solar system,” Loeb posits. He speculates: “In that case, the Oberth maneuver might apply to the mini-probes it releases at perihelion towards Solar system planets.”
NASA’s lead scientist for solar system small bodies, Tom Statler, has dismissed Loeb’s theory, stating, “It looks like a comet. It does comet things. It very, very strongly resembles, in just about every way, the comets that we know.” However, Statler did acknowledge that the object has “some interesting properties that are a little bit different from our solar system comets.”
Loeb has admitted that the likelihood of 3I/ATLAS being technological in origin is slim, but emphasized the importance of evidence-based science. “As of now, 3I/ATLAS appears most likely to be a natural comet,” he wrote in a blog post. “But the remote possibility of an Oberth maneuver must be considered seriously as a black swan event with a small probability, because of its huge implications for humanity.”
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