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Photo: Facebook/Dan Bartlett
This was reported by researchers from the All Day Astronomy project on the social network X.
According to experts, at first glance, the image appears unremarkable and does not arouse suspicion. However, upon closer analysis, scientists noticed the object’s ordered structure, oriented toward the Sun. This feature, the researchers note, does not fit into classical models of comet movement and formation.
The authors of the publication clarify that 3I/ATLAS could initially be mistaken for a dim interstellar body, but further study reveals features that are not typical for such objects.
3I/ATLAS became the third interstellar object discovered in the history of astronomical observations. Previously, scientists detected the asteroid ‘Oumuamua in 2017 and comet 2I/Borisov in 2019.
Most researchers believe 3I/ATLAS is an interstellar comet. However, Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb considers an alternative theory and doesn’t rule out an artificial origin for the object, suggesting it could be a large “alien spacecraft” because it exhibits characteristics difficult to explain by natural processes.
