A Harvard astrophysicist has revealed the exact date a mysterious “interstellar object” is set to reach our planet.
Professor Avi Loeb has been monitoring what he has dubbed an “alien probe” since its discovery on July 1.
Loeb has proposed that this interstellar traveller, designated 3I/ATLAS, could be carrying surveillance equipment or even weaponry.
“It may come to save us or destroy us. We’d better be ready for both options,” the professor said.
And according to his calculations, any potential encounter would occur within a narrow window spanning November 21 to December 5 this year.
The professor bases this timeline on the object’s trajectory, noting it will pass behind the sun from Earth’s vantage point this October.
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A11pl3Z or 3I/ATLAS measures an estimated 12 miles in width
MATTHEW HOPKINS/UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD | PICTURED: Red lines showing the estimated orbits of 3I/ATLAS, and yellow lines show the Sun’s in the Milky Way3I/ATLAS is on a “retrograde path”, travelling in the other direction to our solar system’s natural flow while staying on Earth’s orbital plane.
The Harvard scientist has claimes that there is only a 0.2 per cent probability of such a trajectory occurring naturally.
The object measures some 12 miles across, making it exceptionally large for an interstellar visitor.
And Loeb has compared a potential encounter to “Iran’s air defences when US B-2 bombers appeared: Silent, unstoppable, and overwhelmingly powerful.”
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Loeb has compared a potential encounter to ‘Iran’s air defenses when US B-2 bombers appeared’
He also warned that confirmation of alien technology could trigger widespread panic, predicting that “citizens would lose their trust in governments to protect them” and potentially send financial markets into freefall.
Human technology offers no viable defence against the object, which travels at nearly 60 miles per second relative to Earth.
“The visitor is already in our backyard,” Loeb said.
But his claims have been shot down – Oxford University astronomer Chris Lintott dismissed them as “nonsense on stilts” and has called them an “insult to the exciting work going on to understand this object”.
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Professor Avi Loeb’s (pictured) claims have been shut down by Oxford astronomer Chris Lintott
Despite the scepticism, Loeb advocates for immediate action, and has called for specialised task forces to be readied, made up of scientists, policymakers and psychologists.
He has also pushed for a risk assessment framework for interstellar objects, ranging from zero for natural comets to ten for confirmed technological artefacts.
And he has even proposed that Nasa’s Juno spacecraft could attempt to intercept the 3I/ATLAS when it passes near Jupiter.
