Harvard scientist Avi Loeb has proposed that comet 3I/ATLAS may be artificial, citing its intact passage behind the sun as evidence. New photographs show the comet did not disintegrate during its closest approach to the sun, which Loeb argues is unlikely for a natural object of its size. He speculates that the large jets emanating from the comet could be technological thrusters, designed to accelerate it away from the sun. Loeb calculates that the solar energy absorbed by the comet would require an absorbing area much larger than its estimated size if it were a natural body that maintained its integrity.
Other experts, however, dispute Loeb's theory, asserting that 3I/ATLAS is exhibiting normal cometary behavior. They point to its nucleus size, estimated to be around 1 km, and calculate a "spin-up time" of about 100 years, suggesting it's improbable for the comet to disintegrate from rapid rotation during its sun fly-by. Furthermore, radio signals detected from 3I/ATLAS, identified as hydroxyl radicals created by sunlight breaking down water molecules, support its classification as a natural comet losing water.
