Is this giant object an alien spacecraft? NASA's new mission
Harvard researchers, led by Avi Loeb, are closely watching a strange object called 31/Atlas as it heads our way. They think it might not be from our solar system and could even have an extraterrestrial origin.
31/Atlas is set to swing by within 17 million miles of Earth this December 2025, taking an unusual route past planets like Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.
31/Atlas: A strange interstellar visitor or an alien probe?
What makes 31/Atlas stand out?
For starters, it's huge—over 19.31km wide—and races through space at a wild speed of 209300km/h, faster than anything NASA or the European Space Agency has seen before.
Scientists only spotted it recently because its path is so odd and hard to track.
Some experts wonder if that means alien tech is involved, though it could still turn out to be an interstellar comet.
Either way, its weird journey has sparked plenty of debate and curiosity among astronomers.