Harvard physicist claims mysterious object might be a nuclear-powered spaceship

In early July, a rare interstellar object named 3I/ATLAS was first detected by an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System telescope in Chile. This marks only the third confirmed observation of an interstellar object entering our solar system, according to NASA, which classified the object as a comet. However, Harvard physicist Avi Loeb raised eyebrows by suggesting the object could be more than just a comet due to its unusual brightness profile and trajectory. Dr. Loeb noted that the object's unexpected glow appeared in front of it instead of trailing behind, a detail he found surprising and indicative of something beyond typical cometary behavior. He observed that its brightness couldn't be explained by sunlight reflection or normal outgassing, leading him to consider more extraordinary possibilities. In a recent blog post, Loeb speculated that 3I/ATLAS might generate its own light from nuclear energy. He also dismissed other potential power sources such as primordial black holes, radioactive fragments from a supernova, and frictional heating from interstellar gas and dust. Loeb pointed out that these alternatives lacked the requisite energy levels to explain the object’s luminosity. The simplest explanation for the observed gigawatt-level brightness, he concluded, would involve a nuclear power source. Loeb further questioned the object's unusual trajectory, claiming that its alignment with the orbits of planets within our solar system appeared highly improbable. Given its origin from the center of the Milky Way and its expected close pass by Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, he calculated the odds of such an alignment as one in 20,000. If proven technological, 3I/ATLAS could represent significant implications for humanity's understanding of interstellar travel and technology.