Comet could be ‘alien tech,’ should be investigated: Avi Loeb

(NewsNation) — A newly-discovered interstellar object speeding through the solar system should be investigated over the possibility that it’s an alien craft, according to theoretical physicist Avi Loeb.

Loeb, a Harvard professor and bestselling author of “Extraterrestrial,” believes the supposed comet named 3I/ATLAS has “anomalies” and could be of alien origin.

“It moves on a trajectory that is very unusual,” Loeb told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” on Wednesday night.

“One wonders, could it be a designed trajectory? And I’m not saying that we know, but I’m saying that we need to collect more data to figure out the nature of this object.”

Loeb cowrote a paper submitted earlier this month, which he labeled a pedagogical exercise, suggesting the interstellar object could be “possibly hostile.”

He believes further investigating the object — and others like it— is necessary to discern whether it could be a security risk to Earth, specifically by establishing a risk scale akin to the Richter earthquake measurement.

“We talk a lot about existential risks from artificial intelligence, from climate change, from an asteroid that may impact the Earth, but we don’t talk at all about the possibility of alien tech,” he said.

“I think we should take it into consideration, because we sent out spacecrafts that would leave the solar system.”

Loeb wants to utilize NASA’s Juno spacecraft, which is currently orbiting Jupiter, to intercept the 3I/ATLAS path and study it as it comes into proximity with Jupiter on March 16, 2026.