Alien Spotted? What Harvard University Professor Said About Sighting of Rare Interstellar Object

By Lokmat Times Desk | Updated: August 12, 2025 08:14 IST2025-08-12T08:11:45+5:302025-08-12T08:14:37+5:30

Astronomers recently spotted a rare interstellar object travelling through our solar system. While NASA experts said it is a ...

Alien Spotted? What Harvard University Professor Said About Sighting of Rare Interstellar Object | Alien Spotted? What Harvard University Professor Said About Sighting of Rare Interstellar Object

Alien Spotted? What Harvard University Professor Said About Sighting of Rare Interstellar Object

Astronomers recently spotted a rare interstellar object travelling through our solar system. While NASA experts said it is a comet, Harvard University Professor Dr. Avi Loeb described it as more than a comet. He said its physical characteristics do not match those of a comet.

Loeb said, "Maybe the trajectory was designed." While speaking to Fox News Digital, Loeb claimed that the object is an alien and it is on a reconnaissance mission, to send mini probes to planets, including Earth or keep an eye on them. "It seems quite anomalous."

Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), a telescope located in Chile, first detected the object in July 2025, dubbing it 3I/ATLAS. According to NASA, this discovery marked the third time an interstellar object has been observed entering our solar system.

Also Read | Australia: Meteor Lights Up Skies Over Victoria; Residents Describe ‘Sonic Boom’ (Watch).

However, NASA stated that the object is a comet, but Loeb's theories claimed something else. The Harvard professor said that an image of the cosmic visitor indicated an unexpected glow and was visible at the front of the object, rather than behind it, he said, "it is quite surprising." for him. In short, comets usually have a bright glow on their tails, not in front.

Loeb told Fox News Digital that comets carry shiny tales, which are a mix of dust and gas that shine due to the reflection of sunlight. That's the identity of the comet. "Here, you see a glow in front of it, not behind it," he added, claiming that it's not the comet but something else.

The comet was measured at about 20 kilometres across, likely larger than Manhattan, one of the five boroughs of New York City. However, according to Loeb, its most unusual characteristic is its trajectory. "If you imagine objects entering the solar system from random directions, just one in 500 of them would be aligned so well with the orbits of the planets," he said.

The suspected interstellar object, which comes from the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, is likely to pass near Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, which is unusual to Professor Loeb. "It also comes close to each of them, with a probability of one in 20,000," he said.

According to NASA, the 3I/ATLAS object will reach its closest point to the Sun, about 130 million miles away, on October 30, 2025. "If it turns out to be technological, it would obviously have a big impact on the future of humanity," Loeb said. "We have to decide how to respond to that."

Open in app