A strange object is in our Solar System and is being closely observed.
You’ve probably heard about it. It’d be astonishing if you haven’t heard about it. Since it’s detection in July, barely a day has gone by without 3i/ATLAS stories or speculations appearing in our feeds.
Is it an alien technology, some ask? Is it performing a survey of our Solar System? Is it a hostile or dangerous construct? Is the Earth in imminent danger? Is something monumental about to happen?
Is it a so-called ‘Black Swan Event’?
And is it being covered up?
Or is it just a rock hurtling through space?
I’ve been wanting to post about this for months: but every time I start writing about it, new information or speculation appears, making it hard to keep up.
But let’s just take the deep dive here: from the intriguing to the sensationalist, and to the Dwight weird.
To start with, the basic fascination is obviously justified.
After all, we know the object originated from outside our Solar System: and is only the third known object to have entered our Solar System from interstellar space.
That alone makes it intriguing: irrespective of any ‘alien technology’ type speculations.
But this entire event has also been a rerun of the ‘Oumuamua‘ incident in 2017: in which a similarly strange and enigmatic interstellar object entered our Solar System and was observed to be displaying curious behaviours.
It’s a little odd to me that this phenomenon of interstellar objects entering the Solar System is considered rare enough to be highly noteworthy: and yet we’ve now had more than one such incident in a short space of time.
There still isn’t a definitive consensus on what ‘Oumuamua‘ was exactly: something entirely natural and random, or something more intelligent. There are still people believing Oumuamua was a probe of intelligent (i.e: alien) origin.
So, the speculation has been rampant with 3i/ATLAS from day one. And it hasn’t let up.
The object has also by now been observed and imaged not just by the major telescopes and space agencies, but by Mars probes and by China.
As for NASA, we’ll come back to that – as there’s some controversy over its recent actions.
By the way, 3i/ATLAS is expected to be closest to Earth around Christmas time this year. Which is curious timing in itself.
Most mainstream scientific voices and institutions have maintained that the object is a comet, albeit with some potentially unusual features. Both NASA and the European Space Agency have dismissed the alien theories.
More excitable types have predictably fixated on it being an intelligently controlled or designed object: an interstellar probe or even a ship.
The main proponent of this theory has, unsurprisingly, been Harvard physicist Avi Loeb. I say unsurprisingly because the Israeli scientist was also the primary driver of the extra-terrestrial explanation for the Oumuamua phenomenon in 2017.
Loeb has thus become a high-profile figure, pushing his ideas to a mass audience.
But many academics and more orthodox scientific voices have heavily criticised his speculations, accused him of misrepresenting the facts or being unscientific in his approach.
To be fair to Loeb, he seems like an enthusiastic, sincere scientist (at least that’s the impression I had watching him on Joe Rogan) who just wants scientific institutions and governments to focus more on extra-terrestrial hypotheses in general and to develop strategies for more extraordinary scenarios.
But he has definitely been encouraging the online speculation and excitement – both in 2017 and now.
In fairness, it doesn’t take much for online speculation and theories to explode – and it probably would’ve happened anyway.
He has also said 3i/ATLAS may be a ‘Black Swan‘ event – a rare and extremely high-impact occurrence that isn’t sufficiently prepared for and might only be understood with hindsight.
The main basis for the intelligent design hypothesis seems to be the curious trajectory of the object, which passes notably close to Jupiter, Mars and Venus. This, it is argued, seems too deliberate to be a coincidence.
They also point to strange changes in speed, as well as changes in brightness, curiosities in the object’s hypothesised composition, and dramatic changes in colour.
Though the colour changes have apparently been explained in a way that doesn’t require a space ship hypothesis.
Part of the problem and/or frustration with trying to make sense of this ongoing enigma is the sheer bombardment of confused or contradictory information on a nearly daily basis.
One day the object apparently has a tail, another day it doesn’t. One day, it’s this colour, the next day it’s a different colour.
What’s even harder is trying to work out how much is true information and how much is false. As with everything else these days, doctored images and fake AI content are everywhere. The fake news industry is booming.
But let’s try to do the best we can here.
So, what is 3i/ATLAS? Well, obviously we don’t know for certain. But a comet still seems to be the likeliest explanation.
But then, what was ‘Oumuamua’? Do we have a definitive answer?
If it is a probe or craft of intelligent extra-terrestrial origin, the first problem is that it would’ve taken an unfathomable amount of time to get here from its point of origin. They think this object may be 7 billion years old – older than our Solar System itself.
So, assuming this thing has been travelling through space the laborious way – without any special space-bending technology or short cuts – the people who sent it out are presumably dead already.
Which doesn’t technically rule out the possibility. Our own Voyager craft is still out there, for example – and is now itself in interstellar space. It may outlive the human race that created it and launched it into space. It could still even be out there millions of years from now, perhaps even entering some far away planetary system – just as 3i/ATLAS is in our Solar System right now.
It’s fun to think about. In Star Trek lore, the Voyager probe actually merged with some super-advanced alien AI somewhere out in the depths of space and came back to Earth to find its source.
Thankfully, Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise crew were able to avert the destruction of Earth.
I can’t be entirely dismissive of the more fanciful 3i/ATLAS theories. But I still think we should be cautious too.
There are already people believing that the ‘Annunaki’ or ancient space gods are somehow attached to the 3i/ATLAS object – and that something monumental is about to happen.
The sense of almost religious expectation that some people have for the ‘space gods’ in general or some kind of cosmic intervention to help Mankind always worries me.
And the fact that this approaching interstellar object is engendering that kind of religiosity in some people reminds me of things like the Heaven’s Gate cult and how they believed the Hale-Bopp comet was actually a spaceship coming to Rapture the cult members into Heaven.
I’m obviously not saying anyone who believes 3i/ATLAS is an alien ship is comparable to Marshall Applewhite and his suicide cult.
Just that this sense of expectation or the conflation of spiritual concerns with what could well be entirely random, mundane space phenomena is probably unhealthy.
Read this piece of gobbledygook, for example. Here’s a taste: ‘The mysterious object known as 3I Atlas is no ordinary interstellar visitor — it’s a Lyran starship, launched from the very center of our galaxy on a mission that could redefine humanity’s understanding of the cosmos… According to channeled intel and cosmic-level disclosures, 3I Atlas was sent by the Main Council of Guardians, who reside on a crystalline planet called Aurelia Prime, located near Sagittarius A the supermassive black hole at the galactic core…’
The enthusiast continues, unselfconsciously: ‘From White Hat operations to galactic prophecies, DNA activation, and to the coming solar flash— this is where truth-seekers, starseeds, and patriots unite. Together, we prepare for the coming New Earth and the return of humanity’s cosmic destiny.’
Wow. Got that, ‘patriots’?
If this is just a comet, some of these guys are going to have an existential crisis. Maybe they could form a support group with all those ‘Rapture’ enthusiasts from a couple of weeks ago.
I also think it’s a bit sad that the arrival of even a non-intelligent interstellar object that could be older than the Solar System isn’t considered sufficiently compelling on its own – without needing to add aliens or more overtly sci-fi elements to the discussion.
Such phenomena, and space in general, are already interesting as it is – even at what some would consider the most basic, ‘mundane’ level of scientific orthodoxy. It’s actually not mundane at all. Nothing about the cosmos is really mundane.
In terms of these objects displaying apparently ‘unusual’ behaviours of various descriptions, surely that could be expected from rare phenomena that we haven’t really observed before. If 3i ATLAS is only the third observed interstellar object of its type, is it surprising that it would display some previously unobserved features?
In other words, curious behaviours do not automatically mean alien technology.
Also, I’m a little suspicious that Avi Loeb and his supporters seem to conflate or link these interstellar objects with the currently unfolding ‘UAP’ disclosure process that has been happening in the US government for the last few years.
That controlled disclosure programme – which I have expressed scepticism about in the past – seems to be a slow drip-feed of carefully selected ‘revelations’ made public under the auspices of the Pentagon and the military. With the seeming goal of gradually pointing us towards the existence of an otherworldly threat.
A threat that of course necessitates massive expansion of military/defense spending and the militarisation of outer space.
Which raises another point: if the US military establishment is currently operating a concerted ‘disclosure’ programme to establish the reality of an outer space threat, why isn’t it making more of this Solar System invader?
You’d think they’d want to play up the idea of this interstellar object being a potential threat, even just speculatively. But they don’t appear to be doing that.
Some have been claiming the military and governments have been preparing emergency plans behind closed doors to deal with the 3i ATLAS ‘threat’ – but there isn’t clear evidence of this.
By the way, Avi Loeb has now also suggested that 3i ATLAS is the source of the famous (and unsolved) ‘WOW! Signal’ from 1977. Which is an extraordinary notion.
So either something genuinely extraordinary is unfolding before our eyes – or Avi Loeb is really going all out to create a substantial mythologizing around this mysterious object.
But what about the alleged cover up? Is there one?
Even the International Business Times reported that ‘NASA is under renewed scrutiny following allegations that it withheld high-resolution images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, prompting speculation about what the agency knows—and why it has stayed silent…’
Worse, NASA’s supposed complete shutdown came just as 3i/ATLAS was reaching Mars and was being imaged by the Mars observers. Various media attempts to reach NASA for comment had been either ignored or met with explanations that NASA will remain out of operation until the government shutdown is resolved.
The agency’s delay in releasing specific images or data is claimed to be due to the prolonged government shutdown in the US: but it was also fuelling the conspiracy theories and speculation.
Instead of speculating that NASA is hiding data, could it actually be deliberately encouraging the paranoia and theorising – despite officially refuting the alien hypothesis?
If there is a ‘cover-up’ in general, it hasn’t been a great one: this thing has been observed and photographed multiple times and speculation has been endless. That’s not good covering up.
Then again, let’s never underestimate the willingness to manipulate the masses and conduct psychological operations.
NASA has subsequently released its images: and is even more adamant that this is a comet.
Attention could also be drawn to a global drill that is about to begin and will last two months, involving multiple organisations and focused on 3i/ATLAS.
The Daily Mail is predictably alarmist about it, focusing on the ‘planetary defense’ aspect, but it correctly reports that ‘scientists will be running a special training exercise from November 27, 2025, to January 27, 2026.’
More anxious minds will see the exercise as an indicator of a perceived threat to Earth. In other words, this two-month span is some kind of increased ‘threat’ period that this exercise is going to be dealing with (without the general public being told details).
In fairness, the language of ‘special training exercise’ does evoke past instances of false flag operations. The ‘training drill’ being used as cover for false flag terrorist incidents has become almost a cliche at this point: but imagine expanding that to a cosmic-scaled false flag of some kind.
Avi Loeb talks about a ‘Black Swan’ event: what about a False Flag event? The hysteria over 3i/ATLAS could provide the perfect chance for something of that type.
On the other hand, the exercise might simply be what it’s claimed to be: a cooperative scientific exercise/experiment to fine-tune observation and tracking techniques and to study a unique object.
You know, just science.
Regardless of what 3i/ATLAS is or isn’t, one would hope that scientific institutions and experts are working together and conducting concerted studies: not just for observation, but for developing practises for future occurrences (including threats to the planet).
At any rate, we have some months left to continue observing this mysterious visitor to our neighborhood.
As December approaches, it’ll be interesting to see how the narrative develops.
It’ll also be interesting to see if there’s a broad consensus about what 3i/ATLAS is/was: or if it continues to be debated and unresolved like Oumuamua.
NASA and other institutions have maintained the simple explanation of a comet all along: so they’re not going to suddenly change their appraisal. Meanwhile Avi Loeb and the legions of enthusiasts who hold to the extraterrestrial theory are never going to accept the mundane explanation either.
So, as is now normal in this day and age, we’ll simply have two sets of people living in different realities.
