The much-talked-about 3I/ATLAS has continued to keep tongues wagging both in the scientific community and on social media as it made another inexplicable move. The third interstellar object, rumoured to be an alien technology or another cosmic body, noticeably made an unusual shift in direction as it approached the Sun.

3I/Atlas Makes Mysterious Move While Approaching The Sun

Normally, an object in space moves under gravity; it is pulled by the Sun and the planets. 3I/Atlas is heading toward the Sun, but it somewhat changes direction, raising the question: what prompted the change?

When the motion deviates from the expected or when it doesn’t move along the force of gravity, scientists call this a ‘non-gravitational acceleration.’ Avi Loeb, an Israeli astrophysicist, acknowledged this nature in 3I/Atlas.

He offered two possible explanations for this, and the second reason only fuels more questions than answers about what 3I/Atlas really is.

‘The non-gravitational acceleration could be a result of cometary evaporation or technological propulsion,’ he said, per Daily Mail.

The mention of ‘technological propulsion’ seemingly suggests that an artificial mechanism is involved as the cosmic visitor moves in a manner similar to how spacecraft manoeuvre. This somewhat supported the claims that extraterrestrial intelligence is at play.

What’s 3I/Atlas’ Relationship With The ‘Enigmatic’ Wow Signal?

In a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, Avi Loeb explained that 3I/Atlas’ direction was within 9 degrees of the Wow! Signal, which was detected by the Ohio State University’s ‘Big Ear’ radio telescope in 1977. Per Loeb, the Wow! Signal is ‘an enigmatic powerful radio signal that definitely came from outside of this Earth.’

According to the expert, the source of the Wow Signal! was unknown, but it was from something ‘approaching the Sun.’ He added that there was a ‘0.6% chance’ that the source aligns with the direction of 3I/Atlas at the time.

So, there was a possibility that the Wow! Signal came from 3I/Atlas, but it required a massive amount of energy to transmit such a signal.

‘You just need about the output of a nuclear reactor on Earth, a gigawatt or so to produce such a radio signal,’ he added.​

3I/Atlas Turns Blue When It Approaches The Sun

3I/Atlas, the still unexplained interstellar object, also appears to change in colour as it approaches the Sun. Most comets turn red at perihelion.

Comets are mostly made of ice, dust, and organic molecules. The Sun’s radiation breaks down the ice and organic compounds, releasing reddish dust. The red colour also signals warming and outgassing.

In 3I/Atlas’ case, astronomers noticed that it’s getting bluer as it nears the Sun. This isn’t typical comet behaviour, suggesting the interstellar object is probably not a comet.

While Loeb acknowledged that 3I/Atlas could be burning off a huge amount of ice due to ‘a signature of ionised carbon monoxide.’ He also believes that the blue hue emitted by the still-questionable cosmic body could be due to a ‘hot engine,’ monoxide or a hot engine,’ Daily Mail reported.

When an object in space has a rich-ice composition, such as water or carbon monoxide, it tends to reflect more blue light. However, the same reaction can be observed in metallic or engineered surfaces. The blue light could indicate thermal shielding or ionised exhaust from the propulsion system.

Up to now, the nature of 3I/Atlas has remained mysterious. It could be just another cosmic body, or high technology from far, far away, sent to spy and explore our galaxy.

Originally published on IBTimes UK