3I/ATLAS ‘poses risk to humanity’ as NASA holds crunch ‘spaceship’ convention
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has been warning us all that the so-called comet 3I/ATLAS may be alien technology and could ‘pose a threat to humanity’ if it makes contact
The “alien spaceship” the whole world is waiting NASA to tell us more about may “pose a threat to humanity”, a Harvard astrophysicist has warned.
Boffins at NASA are set to reveal more information about the comet at 8pm (UK time) as well as a never seen before image of the space lump some are theorising is alien technology.
Harvard boffin Avi Loeb has been pointing out anomalies that suggest it is not a comet but a spaceship. Now in a blog post hours before the NASA conference, Mr Loeb wrote: “If an interstellar object happens to be technological, it could pose a threat to humanity.
“A few months ago, I described the `Loeb Scale’ – where a rank of `0′ implies a natural comet and a rank of `10′ corresponds to alien technology that threatens humanity.
“We do not have a response protocol for alien technology, but after the first encounter — as long as we survive it — there will be political will to invest trillions of dollars in a warning system of interceptors that take close-up photos of anomalous interstellar objects.
“3I/ATLAS is expected to arrive closest to Earth at a distance of 269 million kilometers on December 19, 2025. Let us hope that it will not deliver us any unwanted gifts for the holidays.”
He added: “It is also interesting to check if there is any evidence for new objects that either accompanied 3I/ATLAS or left it towards Mars. They could imply fragments from an iceberg that broke up or mini-probes released by a technological mothership.”
Even SpaceX chief Elon Musk has conceded it could be of alien origin and urged space chiefs to continue to monitor its approach to make sure we know where it is going.
Nasa’s associate administrator Amit Kshatriya, science mission directorate associate administrator Nicky Fox, Astrophysics Division acting director Shawn Domagal-Goldman and lead scientist for solar system small bodies Tom Statler will speak at the briefing.
A spokesman said: “Assets within NASA’s science missions give the United States the unique capability to observe 3I/ATLAS almost the entire time it passes through our celestial neighborhood, and study – with complementary scientific instruments and from different directions – how the comet behaves. These assets include both spacecraft across the solar system, as well as ground-based observatories.”
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