Harvard scientist says interstellar object on course for Earth could be nuclear-powered in latest wild claim

A prominent Harvard astrophysicist has claimed that a mysterious object moving through our solar system could be a nuclear-powered spacecraft. 

Professor Avi Loeb, director of the Galileo Project, which hunts for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence, said the interstellar object known as 3I/ATLAS exhibits characteristics suggesting it is not a typical comet, contrary to NASA’s assessment. 

One of those signs is the appearance that the object is generating its own light, suggesting to Loeb that the light comes from a source of nuclear energy on the 3I/ATLAS’ surface.

The light was seen in a recent photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on July 21, which appeared as a glowing area focused on the side of the object facing the sun.

‘Usually, for comets, you see a cometary tail trailing the objects from behind because it’s being pushed by the radiation from the sun. The dust particles are being pushed to be behind, to lag behind the object,’ Loeb told NewsNation.

‘In this case, what we are seeing is a glow in front of the object,’ he explained.

However, not everyone is so convinced. Chris Lintott, an astronomer at the University of Oxford, told Live Science: ‘Any suggestion that it’s artificial is nonsense on stilts.’

He added that these claims are an ‘insult to the exciting work going on to understand this object.’

A new report on the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has found that it may be somehow generating its own light, proving it’s not a comet

Loeb has remained adamant that something about 3I/ATLAS does not add up. His new theory suggests that it’s actually a nuclear-powered craft

Loeb has admitted the most likely outcome will be discovering that the object is indeed a large comet, similar to the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov, which passed through our solar system in 2019.

He added that scientists will have a better idea of what 3I/ATLAS really is as it moves closer to Earth later this year.

The object will make its closest approach to Earth on December 17, before leaving our solar system in early 2026.

Until then, Loeb said his analysis remains rooted in observational data. 

Loeb explained that the light signature doesn’t seem natural because  3I/ATLAS would need to be over 12 miles long to produce such a bright reflection of light from the sun if it were truly a comet.

And it doesn’t make sense for such a massive object to be floating around freely between solar systems, the professor added.

‘There isn’t enough rocky material in interstellar space to deliver a rock of that size earlier than 10,000 years from now, so the question is what is it?’ Loeb told NewsNation.

Loeb, the Frank B Baird Jr Professor of Science at Harvard, also revealed that the object’s course through our solar system shows all the markers of being guided by an unknown intelligence.

3I/ATLAS (circled) is expected to make its closest approach to Earth on December 17, 2025

3I/ATLAS is projected to follow an extremely unusual path that will take it close to three different planets: Venus, Mars, and Jupiter.

The astrophysicist and UFO researcher explained that the object’s course was so rare that the chance of a natural space rock randomly flying along such a path was less than 0.005 percent, or one in 20,000 odds.

‘It indicates that perhaps it was designed by some intelligence. Not necessarily [steering it] but the trajectory itself was chosen to be such that this object will pass close to Mars, Venus, and Jupiter,’ Loeb said.

‘I’m just saying we should observe it. It doesn’t look like it’s a random occurrence,’ he added.

The scientist also revealed that he has spoken with Florida congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, who has been in charge of the House Oversight Committee’s task force on declassifying information surrounding unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs).

According to Loeb, Luna has already contacted NASA about diverting the Juno space probe orbiting Jupiter to intercept and investigate 3I/ATLAS.

3I/ATLAS’ course (Teal line) is expected to make close passes by 3 different planets this year, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter

Despite having support from the influential congresswoman, at least one UFO investigator has said that moving Juno would be a bad idea.

Investigative journalist Ross Coulthart said Loeb’s theory that 3I/ATLAS could be a nuclear spacecraft isn’t shared by many in the scientific community.

‘I just don’t think, from talking to many astronomers, that it’s a good idea to go diverting existing spacecraft – for example, Juno in orbit around Jupiter – or suggesting these are necessarily alien probes with hostile intent,’ Coulthart told NewsNation earlier this month.

‘It’s inflammatory and frankly, there’s not a lot of evidence for it,’ he added.

Coulthart claimed that Loeb’s theory about the interstellar object was born out of frustration with the lack of federal funding going towards projects looking for intelligent life in the cosmos.

In May, Loeb was a guest speaker at Congresswoman Luna’s hearing on UAPs, advocating for more resources in the hunt for extraterrestrial signals and UFO detection.

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