The mysterious object, which some fear is an alien spacecraft because it flies through space at a very high speed, has transmitted its first radio signals.
The “interstellar anomaly” known as 3I/ATLAS PHOTO: X
The first radio signal has been received from the mysterious “UFO” speeding towards Earth. Astronomers have detected radio waves coming from “interstellar anomaly” known as 3I/ATLAS, as it passed the halfway point of its no-return journey through our solar system, writes the Daily Star.
Using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, researchers detected hydroxyl (OH) radicals around the object on October 24. Analysis of the molecules suggests that the surface temperature of the mysterious object, currently about 326 million km from Earth, is 7 degrees Celsius and that it is up to 9.6 km in diameter.
Theoretical physicist Avi Loeb warned that the giant space rock could be a “alien artifact” about to make first contact. But most scientists believe it is a comet that has been traveling for billions of years.
The radio waves are believed to be evidence of its natural origin, being the result of specific wavelength absorption linked to the presence of hydroxyl radicals, or OH molecules, in the comet’s mantle, Livescience reports.
The publication states: “These radicals are formed by the breakdown of water molecules as they are ejected from the comet through a natural process known as outgassing, which is a clear sign of cometary activity, according to a 2016 study.”
Astronomers previously reported evidence of the presence of water from the interstellar visitor when they observed water gushing from the comet “like from a fire hose” lof maximum pressure. The latest findings show that water is broken down by solar radiation.
The new radio signals were first detected shortly after the object briefly disappeared behind the Sun during perihelion and temporarily changed color.
Discovered on July 1, 2025, Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third known object from outside our solar system to be discovered flying through space.
Scientists believe it may be the oldest of its kind ever seen and that it was catapulted from an alien star system in the region of “frontier”
of the Milky Way up to seven billion years ago.
