The United Nations has officially confirmed that Earth's planetary defence systems are being activated to track a mysterious visitor from beyond our solar system. In a matter of hours, a coordinated global effort will begin monitoring the interstellar object known as 3I/ATLAS, treating its approach as a major drill for a potential future asteroid impact.
Global Scientific Campaign Begins
Starting on November 27, a worldwide team of scientists will initiate a two-month campaign to track the object as it nears our planet. The International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN), operated by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, will lead this extensive exercise. While 3I/ATLAS is projected to reach its closest point to Earth on December 19 and poses no threat, this event provides a crucial opportunity to test and refine our planetary defence capabilities.
Amateur Astronomers Outperform NASA with Stunning Images
In a surprising turn of events, amateur astronomers around the world have captured clearer images of the interstellar object than NASA's sophisticated equipment. Harvard professor Avi Loeb has shared remarkable new photographs taken between November 22 and November 24 by everyday skywatchers using small backyard telescopes in Japan, Spain, and Chile.
These striking images reveal a glowing, fuzzy 'head' called a coma and a narrow tail stretching over 600,000 miles. Strangely, this tail points toward the sun instead of away from it, contradicting typical comet behaviour. One image even appeared to show the object's cone-like shape covered in a bright haze.
The clarity of these amateur photographs stands in stark contrast to the blurry, black-and-white image released by NASA from its HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on November 19. Taken from just 19 million miles away, NASA's image lacked definition and sparked widespread criticism and conspiracy theories on social media.
Scientific Debate and Anomalies
Professor Loeb, who heads the Galileo Project researching extraterrestrial life, continues to champion the theory that 3I/ATLAS could be an alien spacecraft. He has pointed out at least 12 anomalies displayed by the object since its discovery in July that scientists cannot explain.
These peculiarities include the cometary tail pointing in the wrong direction, the object turning blue near the sun, and unexplained course changes that appear to defy gravitational laws. Despite these mysteries, both NASA and the UN maintain that 3I/ATLAS is simply a comet from a distant solar system.
The ongoing tracking exercise until January will see telescopes and monitoring systems worldwide focusing on 3I/ATLAS to improve methods for pinpointing such objects' exact locations. As one sceptic on X noted, "When every telescope from Mauna Kea to Chile is being synced on one object, that's not a drill," highlighting the significant attention this mysterious visitor continues to receive from both scientific communities and the public alike.
