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The scientific community remains intrigued by comet 3I/Atlas, which continues to exhibit unusual behavior that deviates from typical cometary patterns. Some researchers are even considering the possibility that the object may not be of terrestrial origin.
Unusual Trajectory Revives Speculation
Astrophysicist Avi Loeb recently proposed that 3I/Atlas may have altered its trajectory. Initially, the object appeared to be heading towards Earth, fueling speculation about the potential release of extraterrestrial probes. This type of observation underscores the ongoing search for anomalies in space and the potential for unexpected discoveries.
Loeb recently posed a key question: “Do the jets of 3I/Atlas beat like a heart?” suggesting that their emission could be periodic rather than a random occurrence. This line of inquiry highlights the potential for identifying non-natural phenomena through observation of rhythmic patterns.
The Object’s “Pulse”: A Shift in Analysis
According to Loeb, since its detection on July 1, 2025, the brightness of 3I/Atlas has shown rhythmic variations, or “beats,” occurring roughly every 16 hours. Initial explanations attributed this fluctuation to the shape of the comet’s nucleus, but new observations indicate that explanation doesn’t fit the data.
Images obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope reveal that almost all of the luminosity comes from a diffuse cloud surrounding the main body. This halo is so transparent that the nucleus is visible, although its exact size remains undefined.
“However, it is presumed that the brightest pixel in the image overlaps with the nucleus and contains a small fraction of the total light,” Loeb notes.
The central question is why the light varies so much if the nucleus contributes so little. Loeb indicates that the most recent images show several jets emanating from the object, and if these expel material periodically, they would create a visual effect similar to a heartbeat: the cloud expands and contracts constantly.
“In the context of a natural comet, this can arise from a jet directed towards the Sun (anticola) that initiates only when a large pocket of ice on one side of the nucleus is oriented towards the Sun. As a result, the tail will inflate each time the ice pocket is oriented towards the Sun. This resembles a heartbeat with a burst of gas and dust acting as a stream of “blood” through the coma periodically during the 16.16-hour rotation period.”
The “heartbeats” referenced by Avi Loeb are, simply put, rhythmic changes in the brightness or activity of the jets emanating from 3I/Atlas.
In a purely natural interpretation, this would occur when an icy area of the comet receives sunlight and releases gas and dust only as it rotates towards the star; however, the professor points out that if 3I/Atlas were an artificial structure, the “heartbeat” could come from a mechanism oriented in any direction, without a direct relationship to the Sun.
“In the case of a technological object, the direction of the pulsating jet could be arbitrary and not necessarily point towards the Sun.”
For Loeb, a continuous sequence of images would allow distinguishing between the two possibilities. If the pattern always points towards the Sun, it would be a common physical behavior. If not, the conversation would take a very different turn.
