In a dramatic U-turn, Harvard astrophysicist Professor Avi Loeb has now admitted it is “most likely natural”, with experts agreeing that the comet is not evidence of aliens
In a major twist, the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS that has gripped the world for the past few weeks appears to have a less exciting origin than initially thought.
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who previously suggested 3I/ATLAS might be alien technology, has now acknowledged it is “most likely natural”.
While some experts have highlighted 3I/ATLAS’s unusual age and composition, there is now broad consensus that it is not evidence of extraterrestrial technology. This conclusion contradicts Professor Loeb’s previous theories that as a result of the object’s weird features, 3I/ATLAS was a spaceship.
The astrophysicist had been a keen proponent of alien life forms, being one of the few scientists that reckoned 3I/ATLAS was an alien spacecraft.
Nevertheless, the object, which whizzed past the Earth on Friday (December 19), turned out to be nothing but a comet, the Daily Star previously reported.
Now, Professor Loeb is reconsidering his earlier, headline-making theory that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS might be alien technology sent to observe Earth.
The scientist told NewsNation: “At this point, given all the data that we have, I would agree that it’s most likely natural, but there are still a lot of things we don’t understand about it.”
However, in his latest blog post on his Medium page, Professor Loeb stated that while 3I/ATLAS has some unusual features that make it worth studying, he has consistently maintained that it is most likely a natural object, not alien technology.
He pointed to his ranking system (the Loeb Scale) to rate the likelihood of interstellar objects being artificial, and although he initially gave 3I/ATLAS a moderate score due to its anomalies, he will only update this ranking if new data provides clear evidence of technological activity; otherwise, the object remains classified as natural.
The scientist further pointed to the “black swan mindset”; being open to the possibility of rare, unexpected events that could have significant consequences, even if they seem unlikely.
He wrote: “Scientists are not used to a `black swan mindset’, because their research rarely has immediate and major implications to society.
“Having an unknown visitor from the cosmic street to our backyard requires that we stay alert to the risk from it entering our home, especially when its tail is coming from its forehead rather than its back — as is the case in common street cats.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.