The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is exhibiting strange pulsating behavior with multiple jets firing every 16 hours, leading scientists to debate whether this could be evidence of extraterrestrial technology.
Harvard’s Avi Loeb Warns Comet’s Luminosity Resembles Controlled Emission Pattern(Image: NASA, ESA, David Jewitt UCLA)
The mysterious object 3I/ATLAS, described by some as an “alien spaceship” may possess a rhythmic “heartbeat” potentially providing crucial evidence about its true nature.
Since summer, what NASA has classified as a “comet” has been traveling through our solar system, puzzling scientists along the way. This latest “pulse” discovery follows observations that 3I/ATLAS exhibited clear “non-gravitational acceleration” based on orbital data from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
In a recent blog post, astrophysicist Avi Loeb – who has been closely monitoring the “spacecraft” – now suggests the jets emanating from 3I/ATLAS could be pulsating in a heartbeat-like pattern. In an article titled “Are the Jets from 3I/ATLAS pulsed like a heartbeat?” Avi wrote: “Following its detection on July 1, 2025, the light from the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS showed pulsating variability with a period of 16.16 hours.
READ MORE: New images of ‘mysterious object’ 3I/ATLAS shows ‘interstellar anomaly’ as Earth approach loomsREAD MORE: Shock as mystery ‘space craft’ due to reach Earth today as UFO alert rises‘Multiple jets’
“Over the past month, images of 3I/ATLAS showed multiple jets. If the mass loss in the jets is pulsed periodically, the resulting coma would display periodic variability in its scattering of sunlight.”
31/ATLAS is a ‘comet’ according to NASA but several experts claim it could be a spaceship
Avi has consistently voiced his views about 3I/ATLAS since its discovery in July, effectively becoming a vocal advocate for studying the unusual object.
In November, the Harvard professor disclosed the “multi-jet structure” will reach its nearest point to Earth on December 19 in what could represent humanity’s closest ever encounter with alien life and technology. “This multi-jet structure constitutes a remarkable target for future observations with the Hubble and Webb telescopes, as 3I/ATLAS will arrive at closest approach to Earth on December 19, 2025,” he said as per Medium.
“Its minimal distance from Earth will be 269 million kilometers, about a hundred times larger than the extent of the jet structure in today’s images.
“The same holds for the particle detectors on NASA’s Juno spacecraft around Jupiter, which will probe 3I/ATLAS on March 16, 2026 from a distance of 53 million kilometers, an order of magnitude larger than the extent of the current jet structure.”
CAPTION: ‘Closest view yet’ at 3I/ATLAS comet as it hurtles past Mars towards us
https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/news/nasa-mars-images-comet-3i-atlas
PICTURED: 3I/ATLAS
Nevertheless, the Harvard expert warns that the “space ship” will likely stay out of sight, as Earth-based satellites will find it difficult to gather data from these “jets”.
Dr Loeb noted, “It is therefore unlikely that particle probes on Earth-based satellites will be able to capture particles from these jets.
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“The same holds for the particle detectors on NASA’s Juno spacecraft around Jupiter, which will probe 3I/ATLAS on March 16, 2026 from a distance of 53 million kilometers, an order of magnitude larger than the extent of the current jet structure.”
“Similarly, ESA’s Juice spacecraft on its way to Jupiter, is currently 64 million kilometers from 3I/ATLAS and unable to intercept these jets.”
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