Prominent astronomer Avi Loeb of Harvard University went on to propose a bold hypothesis: This celestial body may not be natural, but rather designed by an extraterrestrial civilization with the aim of delivering advanced technologies to Jupiter.

Loeb explained in his blog that the non-gravitational acceleration observed in 3I/ATLAS — a deviation from the expected path that is not attributable to the gravity of the Sun or the planets — appears to be “precisely calculated” to take the object directly into what is known as Jupiter’s Hale radius, the limit at which the planet’s gravity exceeds that of the Sun. He pointed out that “the maneuver indicates that the object was targeting a carefully defined area, and not just a passing passerby.”

If this interpretation is correct, according to Loeb, “the discovery of any abnormal satellites around Jupiter in the future may constitute the first physical evidence of alien civilizations’ interest in our planet or its neighbourhood.”

It is noteworthy that Comet 3I/ATLAS was first spotted on July 1, 2025, and it was quickly discovered that it was coming from outside the solar system. Its comet cloud (coma) is about 24 kilometers in diameter, and its age is estimated to be than 7.5 billion years — that is, about 3 billion years older than the Sun itself, making it the oldest comet ever observed.

Since its discovery, scientists have recorded strange behavior of this object: in August, Loeb noticed that it was emitting a self-luminous light similar to the glow of car headlights, without an obvious heat source. In September, its color changed in an unusual way. In November, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) confirmed the first conclusive observational evidence of non-gravitational acceleration of this comet, which supported hypotheses of the presence of unconventional propulsive forces, such as the evaporation of gases – or, in Loeb’s opinion, artificial propulsion systems.

Last week, NASA published high-resolution images taken by the Gemini telescope in Chile, which confirmed that 3I/ATLAS is a real interstellar comet, and documented its entire path as it crossed the solar system.

Controversy continues among scientists: while some believe that the comet’s behavior can be explained by unprecedented natural cometary activity, others – most notably Pulp – believe that these “delicate maneuvers” may be the first mystery we can uncover from a message sent to us from distant worlds.

A computer model estimated its age at than seven and a half billion years – three billion years older than the age of the Sun. It may be the oldest comet ever observed.

Source: Novosti