The Jeddah Astronomical Society has settled the debate surrounding the nature of the celestial object known as Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS, refuting recent claims that it is a spacecraft or an artificial entity from another civilization. The Society's president, Engineer Majid Abu Zahra, confirmed that these speculations lack any scientific or observational basis, emphasizing that recent data proves the object's cometary nature.
Scientific context: The phenomenon of non-gravitational acceleration
Abu Zahra explained that the controversy surrounding the comet was based on a misinterpretation of what is known as "non-gravitational acceleration" in the object's motion. He pointed to recent scientific research published in the American Astronomical Society's journal, *Research Notes*, which confirmed that this type of acceleration is a natural and very common physical phenomenon in comets. This acceleration occurs as a result of sublimation, where frozen materials on the comet's surface turn into gases as they approach the sun's heat, generating a jet-like thrust similar to that of small rocket engines, leading to a slight deviation in trajectory that cannot be explained by gravity alone.
Accurate data settles the matter
The crucial study was based on high-precision astronomical measurements collected by NASA's Psyche spacecraft and the European Space Agency's Mars Trace Gas Orbiter. The results showed that:
- The magnitude of the non-gravitational acceleration of the comet is about 5 × 10⁻⁷ meters per second squared.
- The mass of the comet is estimated at about 44 million metric tons.
- The comet's radius ranges between 260 and 370 meters.
These figures are in perfect agreement with the physical properties of small, natural comets within our solar system, thus negating the artificial body hypothesis.
A history of interstellar objects: from 'Oumuamua to ATLAS
To understand the significance of this event, we must go back a little, specifically to 2017 when scientists detected the first interstellar object to visit our solar system, 1I/Oumuamua. At the time, this object puzzled scientists due to its high non-gravitational acceleration and the absence of a visible gaseous tail, leading to science fiction theories that considered it a space light sail. However, the current comet, 3I/Atlas, is radically different. Data shows clear gaseous activity (carbon dioxide emissions) that is directly proportional to its acceleration, making it a typical case study of a natural comet and dispelling the mystery surrounding its predecessor.
Scientific importance beyond imagination
Despite the disappointment of extraterrestrial searchers, Comet 3I/ATLAS holds immense scientific value. This object serves as a “cosmic messenger,” carrying physical samples from distant star systems that formed under conditions vastly different from our own solar system. Studying these objects offers scientists a rare opportunity to analyze the chemical composition of other galaxies and understand how planets form elsewhere in the universe without having to send spacecraft across such immense distances.
The Jeddah Astronomical Society concluded that Comet 3I/ATLAS, although a strange visitor from interstellar space, remains subject to the laws of traditional physics, and there is no evidence to support unscientific claims about its nature.
