Alien Attack in November? Scientists Warn of Incoming Mystery Object...Incoming object moving at 130,000 mph may be more than just a comet.

Credit: NSF NOIRLab/Int.Gemini Ob et al. / SWNS | The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel

A team of astrophysicists has raised concerns about a recently discovered interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS, claiming it may not be a comet at all—but potentially a technological artifact of alien origin. Detected on July 1, the object is moving at an extraordinary speed of over 130,000 mph and is expected to reach its closest point to the Sun—its perihelion—later this year, with an arrival window near Earth projected for late November or early December 2025.

The study, published on arXiv, posits that if their theory proves correct, the consequences could be “potentially dire for humanity.” Researchers suggest that 3I/ATLAS enters our solar system at a trajectory and velocity that are not only unusual, but could reflect intentional design. According to astrophysicist Avi Loeb, a Harvard professor known for his bold theories on extraterrestrial life, the object’s approach vector may be deliberately chosen.

In a Medium post, Loeb explains, “3I/ATLAS achieves perihelion on the opposite side of the Sun relative to Earth. This could be intentional to avoid detailed observations from Earth-based telescopes when the object is brightest or when gadgets are sent to Earth from that hidden vantage point.”

Loeb, who previously theorized that the ʻOumuamua object in 2017 was a probe sent by alien intelligence, notes that 3I/ATLAS shares a number of similarities. He highlights its anomalous speed, which surpasses even that of ʻOumuamua, and emphasizes that it could serve “various benefits to an extraterrestrial intelligence.”

He also notes the object’s orbital path intersects with the planetary domains of Jupiter, Mars, and Venus, further suggesting it could be maneuvering through the solar system rather than drifting aimlessly. The study’s authors, including Adam Hibbered and Adam Crowl from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies in London, align with Loeb in their assessment that these features may not be coincidental.

While the object’s speed and entry angle are certainly unusual, not everyone in the scientific community agrees with the alien theory. Samantha Lawler, an astronomer from the University of Regina in Canada, refutes the notion, stating: “All evidence points to this being an ordinary comet that was ejected from another solar system, just as countless billions of comets have been ejected from our own solar system.”

Even Loeb himself concedes that the most probable explanation is a natural one. He admits that the “most likely outcome will be that 3I/ATLAS is a completely natural interstellar object, probably a comet.”

Nevertheless, the possibility of it being a hostile surveillance device or a technological probe hasn’t been entirely dismissed by the study’s authors. Loeb also points out the limitations of our current technology, explaining that our best rockets can reach only a third of the object’s speed.

Countdown To November Arrival The celestial body is estimated to be 15 miles in diameter, significantly larger than Manhattan, and will soon reach the inner solar system. While its comet-like appearance has led many to consider it a natural object, its unconventional properties and approach route continue to fuel alternative hypotheses.

If the object turns out to be of artificial origin, as some suggest, Earth could be facing a scenario “that would possibly require defensive measures to be undertaken,” according to the researchers. The team stresses that its appearance and behavior deserve close monitoring as it nears Earth’s orbital space.

Until then, 3I/ATLAS remains a subject of both scientific fascination and public speculation, balancing between a potential cosmic visitor and a celestial anomaly with no precedent.

AI take:

3I/ATLAS Comet

3I/ATLAS, also known as C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) and previously as A11pl3Z, is an interstellar comet discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) station at Río Hurtado, Chile on 1 July 2025.
The comet follows an unbound, hyperbolic trajectory past the Sun with an orbital eccentricity of 6.14 and a very fast hyperbolic excess velocity of 58 km/s (36 mi/s) relative to the Sun. It is the third interstellar object confirmed passing through the Solar System, after 1I/ʻOumuamua (discovered in October 2017) and 2I/Borisov (discovered in August 2019).

The size of 3I/ATLAS’s nucleus is uncertain because it is an active comet surrounded by a coma, a diffuse envelope made of icy dust ejected from the comet’s outgassing surface. Estimates for the nucleus diameter of 3I/ATLAS range from 0.8 to 11 km (0.5 to 6.8 mi), though a diameter toward the lower end of the range is more likely.
3I/ATLAS will come closest to the Sun on 29 October 2025, at a distance of 1.36 AU (203 million km; 126 million mi) from the Sun, which is between the orbits of and . 3I/ATLAS poses no threat to Earth because the comet will not come closer than 1.8 AU (270 million km; 170 million mi) from Earth.

The comet appears to have originated from the Milky Way’s thick disk where older stars reside, which means that the comet could be at least 7 billion years old (older than the Solar System) and could have a water-rich composition. Observations so far have found that the comet is made of water ice and silicate minerals, which are substances commonly found in comets. Other volatile ices such as carbon dioxide and ammonia are expected to exist in 3I/ATLAS, but have not been detected yet. Future observations by more sensitive instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope will be able to determine the composition of 3I/ATLAS.

3I/ATLAS was discovered on 1 July 2025 by the NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope at Río Hurtado, Chile (observatory code W68). At apparent magnitude 18, the newly discovered object was entering the inner Solar System at a speed of 61 km/s (140,000 mph; 220,000 km/h) relative to the Sun, located 3.50 AU (524 million km; 325 million mi) from Earth and 4.51 AU from the Sun, and was moving in the sky along the border of the constellations Serpens Cauda and Sagittarius, near the galactic plane. It was given the temporary designation ‘A11pl3Z’ and the discovery observations were submitted to the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center (MPC). These observations initially suggested that the object could be on a highly eccentric path that might come close to Earth’s orbit, which led the MPC to temporarily list the object in the Near-Earth Object Confirmation Page.

Follow-up observations from other observatories, involving both professional and amateur astronomers, began to reveal that the object’s trajectory would not come near Earth, but instead could be interstellar with a hyperbolic trajectory. Pre-discovery observations of 3I/ATLAS confirmed its interstellar trajectory; these included Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF, observatory code I41) observations from 28 to 29 June 2025 that were found within a few hours of the initial report, ZTF observations from 14 to 21 June 2025, and ATLAS observations from 25 to 29 June 2025. Amateur astronomer Sam Deen has noted additional ATLAS pre-discovery observations from 5 to 25 June 2025, and suspected that 3I/ATLAS was not discovered earlier because it was passing in front of the Galactic Center’s dense star fields, where the comet would be hard to discern.

Initial observations of 3I/ATLAS were unclear on whether 3I/ATLAS is an asteroid or a comet. Various astronomers including Alan Hale reported no cometary features, but observations on 2 July 2025 by the Deep Random Survey (X09) at Chile, Lowell Discovery Telescope (G37) at Arizona, and Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope (T14) at Mauna Kea showed a marginal coma and a short tail 3 arcseconds in angular length, which indicated the object is a comet. On 2 July 2025, the MPC announced the discovery of 3I/ATLAS and gave it the interstellar object designation “3I”, signifying it being the third interstellar object confirmed. The MPC also gave 3I/ATLAS the non-periodic comet designation C/2025 N1 (ATLAS). By the time 3I/ATLAS was announced, the MPC had collected 122 observations of the comet from 31 different observatories.

Observations by David Jewitt and Jane Luu using the Nordic Optical Telescope on 2 July 2025 confirmed that 3I/ATLAS was “clearly active” with a diffuse tail. Miguel R. Alarcón and a team of researchers of the IAC (Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias) using Teide Observatory’s Two-meter Twin Telescope also found cometary activity on the same date, with a tail at least 25,000 km (16,000 mi) long. Multi-band observations at the Kottamia Astronomical Observatory 1.88-m telescope, the Palomar 200-inch telescope, and the Astrophysical Research Consortium 3.5-m telescope on 2025 July 2, 3 showed the comet had colors of B-V=0.98±0.23, V-R=0.71±0.09, R-I=0.14±0.10, g-r=0.84±0.05 mag, r-i=0.16±0.03 mag, i-z=-0.02±0.07 mag, and g-i=1.00±0.05 mag and a spectral slope of 16.0±1.9 %/100 nm. Faulkes Telescope North measurements of 3I/ATLAS’s brightness through different light filters showed that the comet’s coma had a reddish color indicative of dust, similar to that of the previous interstellar comet 2I/Borisov.

On 6 July, additional observations were published, including Zwicky Transient Facility (I41) precoveries from several nights between 22 May and 21 June 2025. An even earlier precovery from 21 May 2025, made at Weizmann Astrophysical Observatory (M01), was published on 18 July 2025. The newly-commissioned Vera C. Rubin Observatory has serendipitously imaged 3I/ATLAS during its science validation observations from 21 June to 3 July 2025. These observations showed a slight increase in the comet’s coma diameter and provided constraints on the comet’s nucleus diameter. The Vera Rubin Observatory would have discovered 3I/ATLAS before the ATLAS survey if it had begun its science validation observations two weeks earlier.

The Hubble Space Telescope took images of 3I/ATLAS on 21 July 2025. In November 2025, Hubble will perform ultraviolet spectroscopy on 3I/ATLAS to determine the composition of its gas emissions and sulfur-to-oxygen ratio, and the telescope will monitor the comet on its way out of the Solar System. Furthermore, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is scheduled to observe 3I/ATLAS in August and December 2025, before and after the comet’s perihelion, respectively. Infrared spectroscopy by the JWST will be able to detect certain compounds in 3I/ATLAS, such as water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and ammonia.

3I/ATLAS follows an extremely hyperbolic trajectory past the Sun because it is moving too fast to be bound by the Sun’s gravity. When 3I/ATLAS entered the Solar System, it was moving at a speed of 58 km/s (36 mi/s) relative to the Sun - this speed is the comet’s hyperbolic excess velocity (v∞). As 3I/ATLAS comes closer to the Sun and gets pulled in by the Sun’s gravity, the comet will speed up ...

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