US intelligence officials have declined to confirm or deny whether they possess records on a newly-discovered interstellar object, a response that has intensified public speculation that it may have something to do with aliens despite scientists saying the object appears to be a natural comet.
The object, known as 3I/ATLAS, is only the third confirmed body ever observed entering the solar system from beyond interstellar space. Astronomers say it is moving too fast to be captured by the Sun’s gravity and will eventually exit the solar system, never to return.
Researchers observing the object through ground-based telescopes report that 3I/ATLAS displays a visible coma and tail – hallmarks of a comet formed from ice and dust. Data released by civilian space agencies, including NASA, show no indication the object is artificial.
(Image: Harvard University)
Attention shifted away from astronomy, however, after the Central Intelligence Agency issued a so-called Glomar response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records related to the object. The agency said it could neither confirm nor deny the existence of responsive documents.
These responses are typically used to avoid revealing intelligence methods or monitoring priorities, former officials say. Still, the refusal to acknowledge any records has drawn notice because US intelligence agencies routinely track objects in space for collision risks, satellite safety and national defence, reports MITECHNEWS.
The CIA’s position does not assert that 3I/ATLAS is unusual or artificial and scientists continue to emphasise there is no evidence suggesting the object contains non-natural or technological components. However, the agency’s silence has contributed to online speculation at a moment when space surveillance increasingly overlaps with national security concerns.
Researchers say that as detection systems improve, interstellar objects will be discovered more frequently – raising new questions about how scientific transparency and intelligence secrecy intersect when rare visitors pass through the solar system.
Writing in the Medium, Avi Loeb a theoretical physicist and the Baird Professor of Science and Institute director at Harvard University stated: “The simplest interpretation of the CIA response to the FOIA request is that some government officials wished to verify that 3I/ATLAS is not a black swan event, posing a potential threat to society even as comet experts regard such a possibility as highly unlikely.
“By multiplying a small probability for the existence of a threat with its high impact factor on society, the sober conclusion is that such events must be taken seriously and monitored.
“This lesson, akin to Pascal’s Wager, was learned the hard way by the residents of the City of Troy after they welcomed the Trojan Horse, as well as by intelligence agencies like the CIA after their miscalculations in gauging the risk from the events that unfolded on September 11, 2001 and October 7, 2023.”