New extraordinary images of the interstellar object flying through our solar system have been released, sparking fresh theories about its origins.
Although most scientists have concluded that the mysterious object is a comet, NASA‘s Perseverance rover on the Martian surface sent back photos showing what appears to be a massive cylindrical shape.[1][2]
Stargazers on social media shared color-enhanced images of the object, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, which showed the interstellar visitor having a green glow as it passed Mars[3] and heads closer to the sun.
Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who has been convinced that the object could be an alien craft or probe[4], analyzed the Perseverance rover’s photos by calculating its distance, speed, and camera settings.
According to his initial study, Loeb was not convinced 3I/ATLAS is actually a massive cylindrical object, noting that the strange shape might have been a trick of the rover’s camera stretching out its shape.
He explained that the apparent cylinder from the rover’s ‘Navcam’ was likely caused by the camera stacking hundreds of images of 3I/ATLAS over a period of about 10 minutes, making it look more like a log than a ball.
The professor added that 3I/ATLAS is likely smaller and rounder, but still massive, with a potential diameter of more than 28 miles across.
Dr Horace Drew, a retired senior researcher at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), noted that the mysterious green glow seen in some images could be a result of the object being an interstellar spacecraft coated in nickel.
The Perseverance rover on Mars captured new images of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS as it passed by the planet this weekend
Color-enhanced images shared by multiple social media users revealed a strange green glow around 3I/ATLAS
Drew explained that humans use the same practice on Earth-made space technology on a much smaller scale.
‘It is not a ‘comet,” Drew declared on a post on X Monday morning.
Drew disagreed with Loeb’s conclusion that the cylindrical shape was a result of the Mars rover sending back a stretched image over several minutes, claiming that an amateur astronomer on Earth captured a similar shape with their telescope.
‘We can see an extended white shape, with a green coma outside. Not a small white ball,’ Drew explained in a post about the astronomer’s photograph[5].
Drew, who earned his PhD in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, added that previous images of the interstellar object were allegedly from a ‘head-on view’ and didn’t capture its shape from the side, like the new photos from Mars.
Loeb said he’s excited about another image taken[6] by a different Mars camera, called HiRISE, which has better resolution and could show 3I/ATLAS more clearly.
That image is being sent back to Earth by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and has yet to be released by NASA.
Loeb has previously theorized that 3I/ATLAS could be a second craft sent by an extraterrestrial intelligence, following the strange cylindrical object known as Oumuamua[7], which passed Earth in 2017.
3I/ATLAS came within 18 million miles of Mars on October 3. Two space probes from Earth have been observing it for a week
Dr Horace Drew said an amateur astronomer’s photo of the 3I/ATLAS (bottom 3 images) prove the object has a cylindrical shape and is not a comet
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Loeb told the Daily Mail on Thursday that clear images and a scan of the supposed comet’s composition were the key findings that could definitively tell scientists what 3I/ATLAS is.
Despite images emerging from NASA, space agencies around the world have still not commented by their initial findings from the Mars flyby.
Daily Mail reached out to NASA for comment and received a message noting that the space agency ‘is currently closed due to a lapse in government funding.’
The European Space Agency (ESA) used the Mars Express and ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter to successfully observe 3I/ATLAS, but it’s expected to take days or even weeks to process all the data.
Meanwhile, some on social media have claimed that the global silence surrounding 3I/ATLAS adds proof that governments are covering up[8] what they know about the alleged craft.
‘NASA’s shutdown is suspicious. The ESA’s delay is strange. But China’s silence, when they have every geopolitical reason to publish and show off, is the sign that something is happening behind closed doors,’ one X user said on Monday.
‘All eyes are on 3I/ATLAS — but suddenly, the silence is deafening,’ another person posted.
References
- ^ NASA (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ massive cylindrical shape. (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ it passed Mars (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ alien craft or probe (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ in a post about the astronomer’s photograph (x.com)
- ^ about another image taken (avi-loeb.medium.com)
- ^ object known as Oumuamua (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ governments are covering up (www.dailymail.co.uk)