‘Alien spaceship’ 3I/Atlas to make uncommon transfer close to the Sun which may remedy UFO thriller
Top astrophysicist Avi Loeb said the rare alignment will provide a unique chance for scientists to inspect the mystery object as it will be lit up from behind Earth
The interstellar visitor will be lit up by the Sun(Image: Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The interstellar comet 3I/Atlas is set to be lit up by the Sun in the coming days – and could finally solve the mystery of whether it is an alien spaceship, a space boffin says.
Top astrophysicist Avi Loeb said the rare alignment with the Earth-Sun axis will provide a unique chance for scientists to inspect the mystery object as it will be lit up from behind our planet.
The phenomenon, known as an opposition surge, occurs when a surface is brightened due to illuminated from directly behind the observer.
Prof Loeb said: “Observations before and after the alignment time offer an unprecedented opportunity which may not repeat for decades, for characterizing the albedo, structure, and composition of interstellar matter.”
The Manhattan-sized space rock has been the source of much scientific debate in recent months. Loeb, a professor at Harvard University in the US, previously insisted that it could actually be an ‘alien spaceship’.
In a recent blog post, he said 3I/Atlas will reach an unprecedented near-opposition alignment on January 22.
He added: “At that rare time, Earth will pass nearly between the Sun and 3I/Atlas. The phase angle a between the Sun- 3I/Atlas axis and the Sun-Earth axis, will reach a value of 0.69 degrees.
“Unlike typical cometary opposition geometries which often last for hours, 3I/ATLAS will maintain α < 2 degrees for approximately one week, between 19–26 of January, 2026.”
He explains the opposition surge as: “When the Sun, object, and observer are nearly aligned, shadows cast by dust particles are hidden behind the particles. This eliminates dark areas, increasing the object’s brightness.
“At very small angles, light traveling on reciprocal paths through a dusty medium interferes constructively, creating a narrow brightness spike as a consequence of quantum mechanics.”
He added: “Cometary dust is processed through its parent proto-planetary disk, and so its microphysical structure might be different from interstellar dust. The opposition surge amplitude and width of 3I/Atlas could address the following questions:
“Is the dust shed by 3I/Atlas dominated by carbonaceous material or does it retain significant ice fragments, as suggested in my papers with Eric Keto based on its extended anti-tail?
“Are the grains compact (thermally processed) or fluffy fractal aggregates (pristine molecular cloud material)?”
He urged scientists to observe the interstellar visitor for around four days before and after January 22 using high-precision relative photometry to study its properties.
He went on: “Coordinated observations from multiple sites are needed to improve temporal sampling and to mitigate weather-related data gaps.
“Even partial datasets will contribute meaningfully to constraining the phase-angle behavior of the rare alignment of 3I/Atlas with the Earth-Sun axis.
“Here’s hoping that many observers with access to suitable telescopes will take advantage of the extraordinary fortune that we are about to have through the rare alignment of 3I/Atlas with the Sun-Earth direction.
“Related data can help decipher the nature of the anti-tail jet of 3I/Atlas and resolve other anomalies — such as its unprecedented polarization properties.”
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