3I/Atlas

[Jonmx]

I couldn't see a dedicated thread anywhere on this, and despite my trolling inclination to put it in NP&E with a statement that aliens are coming, I thought this a better location. The whole thing is fascinating to me, and clearly it's put the cat among the pigeons in the scientific community. My ex was a doctor of quantum physics who shared office space with astrophysicists with whom I once had a conversation about how I'd build an interstellar spaceship into an asteroid. Other than that, my scientific knowledge comes from GCSEs and Star Wars.
What are folks thoughts? Alien technology or scientific anomaly that's beyond our scientific comprehension at this point?

[Simpo Two]

Jonmx said:

Alien technology or scientific anomaly that's beyond our scientific comprehension at this point?

c) It appears to be a comet: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-at...

I think you can file the rest under 'half-baked looney bks' and move on

[Sway]

Simpo Two said:

Jonmx said:

Alien technology or scientific anomaly that's beyond our scientific comprehension at this point?

c) It appears to be a comet: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/comets/3i-at...

I think you can file the rest under 'half-baked looney bks' and move on

Yep. One crackpot nutter making claims (which he's made before and had egg on face) has created some insane phenomenon where palpable bks is being claimed as fact.

Stuff like this:



What the actual fk? From everything I can glean from reputable sources, it's a slightly unusual interstellar object (comet/asteroid) that's moving surprisingly (but not inexplicably) fast through the System. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Simpo Two]

^^^ I'm not surprised. Half the videos on Facebook are made-up AI clickbait; it seems to be the new normal.

[Terminator X]

Calling it "interstellar" seems to have driven people to lunacy.

TX.

[Virtual PAH]

As the object gets closer and more science is done on it, there does seem to be a few things about it that are unusual and downright weird. Shame we have no way of sending a probe close enough to have a proper look, given there is a chance (however small) it could be alien technology or something new that helps define comet behaviour before one does end up on a collision course with Earth.

A good summary by an academic posted yesterday that uses research papers for the info so at least grounded in fact, though with the usual YouTube distortion for views though at least she mostly keeps that to humour in her videos:

Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Looks Increasingly Weird
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0dcuXxHRaA

Related is how it appears there is no plan in case of aliens, whether discovered at distance by SETI et al or a somewhat closer encounter, other than 'run for the hills':

Joe Scott's take on it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKCJoN_WR_I

[Drew106]

I would love it so much to be aliens! Wouldn't that just be the most fascinating thing to happen in the history of life on earth...

Alas, it appears to show all signs of being a comet. Albeit and interesting, interstellar one.

[Sway]

Virtual PAH said:

Related is how it appears there is no plan in case of aliens, whether discovered at distance by SETI et al or a somewhat closer encounter, other than 'run for the hills':

There is zero point having a plan. Not one iota.

If we discover something via SETI, there is nothing we can do - other than send a signal (which is a fking stupid idea) that won't be received or possible response for centuries.

If it's "closer to home", then they have so much capability they are as actual omnipotent deities are to microbes.

[Simpo Two]

Sway said:

There is zero point having a plan. Not one iota.

If we discover something via SETI, there is nothing we can do - other than send a signal (which is a fking stupid idea) that won't be received or possible response for centuries.

If it's "closer to home", then they have so much capability they are as actual omnipotent deities are to microbes.

They're much more likely to be microbes.

[Sway]

Simpo Two said:

Sway said:

There is zero point having a plan. Not one iota.

If we discover something via SETI, there is nothing we can do - other than send a signal (which is a fking stupid idea) that won't be received or possible response for centuries.

If it's "closer to home", then they have so much capability they are as actual omnipotent deities are to microbes.

They're much more likely to be microbes.

Then again, we don't really need a new 'plan'. There was already a tonne of work on isolating and testing stuff that came back from orbit/the moon and what we'd do if we found novel microbes. If we find them through SETI, then it's a curiosity and nothing more.

[Terminator X]

Drew106 said:

I would love it so much to be aliens! Wouldn't that just be the most fascinating thing to happen in the history of life on earth...

Alas, it appears to show all signs of being a comet. Albeit and interesting, interstellar one.

Drew.

You do understand how big the Universe is? It will never happen even if aliens do exist.

TX.

[Drew106]

Terminator X said:

Drew106 said:

I would love it so much to be aliens! Wouldn't that just be the most fascinating thing to happen in the history of life on earth...

Alas, it appears to show all signs of being a comet. Albeit and interesting, interstellar one.

Drew.

You do understand how big the Universe is? It will never happen even if aliens do exist.

TX.

A subject that absolutely fascinates me, so yes, somewhat. Even if my brain is totally inadequate to comprehend such bigness .

But, "never"? There are so many unknowns that we can't say anything for sure.

Size ceases to mean anything if distances can be traversed in a instant - with a little Googling, it would take 2.5m years to travel to Andromeda at light speed. However, with time dilation, travelling at 99.9999999999% the speed of light (ignoring the logistics lol) you could make the journey absolutely feasible, albeit one way.

I know this is hugely simplistic, such is my knowledge of the subject, but we just don't know what we don't know.

[Virtual PAH]

Sway said:

There is zero point having a plan. Not one iota.

If we discover something via SETI, there is nothing we can do - other than send a signal (which is a fking stupid idea) that won't be received or possible response for centuries.

If it's "closer to home", then they have so much capability they are as actual omnipotent deities are to microbes.

That was the summation that Joe Scott made in his video.

The plan against the aliens may be pointless if it comes to conflict, but not against controlling the humans from panic and the civil unrest such a discovery would cause. Which allows some tinfoil hatters to say aliens are already here and the public can't be trusted with that knowledge.

Feels a lot like what would happen if god revealed itself such would be the advanced nature of any alien able to reach Earth. What if an alien arrived claiming to be god, as a way of ensuring subjugation from a species so ready to accept such an entity exists in a sentient form. This premise must have been made into a movie somewhere but can't think of one.

[ChocolateFrog]

What's the point in going to the next galaxy, I doubt the universe has enough time left for us to fully explore our galaxy. All the stars will have burnt out long before we'd be able to visit them all anyway.

[Drew106]

Virtual PAH said:

Feels a lot like what would happen if god revealed itself such would be the advanced nature of any alien able to reach Earth. What if an alien arrived claiming to be god, as a way of ensuring subjugation from a species so ready to accept such an entity exists in a sentient form. This premise must have been made into a movie somewhere but can't think of one.

I can think of at least one TNG episode with this theme. Picard didn't claim to be a deity, but he was perceived as one.

[Sway]

Drew106 said:

Virtual PAH said:

Feels a lot like what would happen if god revealed itself such would be the advanced nature of any alien able to reach Earth. What if an alien arrived claiming to be god, as a way of ensuring subjugation from a species so ready to accept such an entity exists in a sentient form. This premise must have been made into a movie somewhere but can't think of one.

I can think of at least one TNG episode with this theme. Picard didn't claim to be a deity, but he was perceived as one.

I don't think there'd be any real benefit from pretending to be a deity.

From a power perspective, they are a deity - so 'willingness to be subjugated' is pretty much irrelevant. If they want subjugation (and it's a fairly niche concept that a visiting alien would want/need that) then they can achieve it easily regardless.

[Terminator X]

Drew106 said:

Terminator X said:

Drew106 said:

I would love it so much to be aliens! Wouldn't that just be the most fascinating thing to happen in the history of life on earth...

Alas, it appears to show all signs of being a comet. Albeit and interesting, interstellar one.

Drew.

You do understand how big the Universe is? It will never happen even if aliens do exist.

TX.

A subject that absolutely fascinates me, so yes, somewhat. Even if my brain is totally inadequate to comprehend such bigness .

But, "never"? There are so many unknowns that we can't say anything for sure.

Size ceases to mean anything if distances can be traversed in a instant - with a little Googling, it would take 2.5m years to travel to Andromeda at light speed. However, with time dilation, travelling at 99.9999999999% the speed of light (ignoring the logistics lol) you could make the journey absolutely feasible, albeit one way.

I know this is hugely simplistic, such is my knowledge of the subject, but we just don't know what we don't know.

Optimism overload

Voyager 1 has been travelling for 48 years and is 0.003 light years away^.

^forgive my maths, could be wrong! Given that a light-year is approximately 9.46 trillion km's (9,460,730,472,580.8 km).

"The furthest spacecraft from Earth is Voyager 1, which was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977. As of 2025, it is over 25 billion kilometers (about 15.5 billion miles) away and has entered interstellar space, making it the most distant human-made object"

TX.

[BuyaDuster]

I want it to be a comet and not Aliens.

This what Lemmy had to say about the subject.
No thanks. Choking on Your Screams- Motorhead.

We are the homeless, lost in space
Wandering searching out of place
Now we find you, our journeys end
You must vanish, your world must make amends
We are coming to kill you, declaration of war
You have seen us in the sky; now you must die
We bring you sorrow, no time to say goodbye
You have seen a thousand years of fire in the sky
We come to battle we will end your hopes and dreams
So die now choking on your screams
You will not see us, but we are here
Breathing deep, your atmosphere
Your world is ours, and now we call
We are the others, inside your walls
We all come to waste you, to watch you die
Some of us among you, our trusted spies
We are your masters, we feel no remorse
You have no chance against us, we live for war
You will be gone forever, no fever dreams
Die then choking on your screams
Your time has come now, accept the fact
We are the stronger race, you will die like rats
Bow to the eternal law, cruel and extreme
Die choking on your screams.

[Drew106]

Terminator X said:

Drew106 said:

Terminator X said:

Drew106 said:

I would love it so much to be aliens! Wouldn't that just be the most fascinating thing to happen in the history of life on earth...

Alas, it appears to show all signs of being a comet. Albeit and interesting, interstellar one.

Drew.

You do understand how big the Universe is? It will never happen even if aliens do exist.

TX.

A subject that absolutely fascinates me, so yes, somewhat. Even if my brain is totally inadequate to comprehend such bigness .

But, "never"? There are so many unknowns that we can't say anything for sure.

Size ceases to mean anything if distances can be traversed in a instant - with a little Googling, it would take 2.5m years to travel to Andromeda at light speed. However, with time dilation, travelling at 99.9999999999% the speed of light (ignoring the logistics lol) you could make the journey absolutely feasible, albeit one way.

I know this is hugely simplistic, such is my knowledge of the subject, but we just don't know what we don't know.

Optimism overload

Voyager 1 has been travelling for 48 years and is 0.003 light years away^.

^forgive my maths, could be wrong! Given that a light-year is approximately 9.46 trillion km's (9,460,730,472,580.8 km).

"The furthest spacecraft from Earth is Voyager 1, which was launched by NASA on September 5, 1977. As of 2025, it is over 25 billion kilometers (about 15.5 billion miles) away and has entered interstellar space, making it the most distant human-made object"

TX.

Not often accused of being an optimist, but maybe in regards to alien life

You prompted me to do a little reading about Voyager 1 (&2). Interesting little factoid - V1 is predicted to reach one light day away from earth in Nov-26.

We're absolute babies when it comes to this though. We can't possibly comprehend the technology that's possible.

I mean we don't really know what the universe even is. Bear with me, because I'm going a little trippy now, but I believe that if infinity exists (be that, infinite time, infinite space, infinite universes), then everything can, will, and has happened. If infinity doesn't exist, what could possibly be the negative? I.e. what is outside of time and space. If the answer is nothing, then everything must happen.

So maybe we're in the universe that 3I/Atlas is a cleverly cloaked alien spacecraft which will soon be arriving sometime in December. Although I suspect the likelihood is as near as make no difference, 0%.

[Eric Mc]

It's a rock - get over it