Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has straight path through solar system
Scientists are intrigued by 3I/ATLAS, an interstellar object racing through our Solar System at about 60km/s.
What's wild is its path almost perfectly lines up with the planets' orbital plane—a super rare event that only happens about 0.2% of the time.
This odd alignment has everyone wondering: is it just a weird coincidence, or could it actually be designed, maybe even artificial?
Loeb and Trivedi are working on the object's trajectory
Avi Loeb from the Galileo Project says studying how 3I/ATLAS orbits the Sun is key to cracking its mystery.
Based on how bright it looks, it could be anywhere from 5 to 46km wide (depending if icy bits are making it shine).
Loeb and grad student Oem Trivedi have used stats to see how likely big interstellar objects like this are in our neighborhood—and future observations from Chile's Rubin Observatory should give us even more clues soon.