Un Tracking Team Gears up for 3I/Atlas’ Closest Pass to Earth
The scale of 3I/Atlas is mind-boggling. It’s an interstellar object roughly the size of Manhattan. Scientists believe it may have traveled more than 20,000 light-years through space. It is currently racing through our solar system at about 137,000 miles per hour.
On Dec. 19, it will pass closest to Earth. Even then, it will remain about 168 million miles away. As it does, a new United Nations-backed monitoring campaign will be on high alert.
Why is the U.N. watching 3I/Atlas? It’s probably not because of early speculation that its irregular path looked more like an alien spacecraft than a comet. Recent images clearly show a cometary structure.
It’s also not because the object poses any threat to Earth. In fact, 3I/Atlas will never pass closer than about 1.8 times the Earth’s distance from the sun.
The real reason is rarity. 3I/Atlas is only the third confirmed interstellar object humanity has ever observed.
How the UN is paying close attention
The U.N.’s International Asteroid Warning Network coordinates more than 80 observatories worldwide. The group organizes joint observation campaigns for objects passing near Earth.
The network has been preparing to test a new tracking technique. The goal is to lay the groundwork for one day intercepting a future object with a spacecraft. Until recently, it lacked a suitable target. That changed in July, when 3I/Atlas appeared.
James Bauer, a research professor in the University of Maryland’s astronomy department, has pushed back on claims that 3I/Atlas is anything other than natural. He has called it a “comet’s comet,” not a spacecraft. Still, he acknowledges its speed and origin make it an ideal test case.
“We want the community to use the latest and greatest techniques,” Bauer said. “The idea behind these campaigns is really to strengthen the technical capabilities for measuring sky positions, which we call astrometry, for asteroids and comets.”
Meanwhile, Harvard professor Avi Loeb continues to argue that 3I/Atlas shows unusual behavior. He claims the object exhibits at least 14 anomalies inconsistent with typical comets. His latest observation is that it’s rotating to maintain an Earth-like day-night cycle, possibly for the comfort of extraterrestrial passengers.
Those claims remain speculative. Still, if 3I/Atlas were to change course in any unexpected way, scientists across 80 observatories would be watching closely.
