This Harvard scientist says 3I/ATLAS was within 29 million kilometers of Mars on October 3, 2025. He says the interstellar object’s path is also closely aligned with the plane where the planets orbit the Sun (the ecliptic plane), which is rare.
Avi Loeb says the orbital path of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is tilted by about 5 degrees compared to the flat plane in which Earth orbits the Sun, called the ecliptic plane.
He begins by describing two major coincidences: first, that the plane of 3I/ATLAS's orbit is almost aligned (within 4.89 degrees) to the ecliptic, and second, that its timing brings it very close to both Mars and Jupiter. He calculates that these two coincidences happening together is extremely unlikely—has a likelihood of less than a millionth.
Loeb says that if an advanced alien civilization spotted our Solar System by watching our planets pass in front of the Sun (which is how we find planets around other stars), they would most likely be located near the same flat plane, the ecliptic, because that view allows them to see those planets transit. Depending on how well their telescopes work, this "viewing zone" can be a small angle above and below that flat plane.
He talks about the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, which is like a thick ring of space rocks. This belt is thick enough that if someone were sending a spacecraft to visit after seeing our planets transit, the approach path could be angled up to about 10 degrees from the flat plane.
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Since 3I/ATLAS's orbit is tilted by about 5 degrees, it fits nicely within this expected range. This makes it plausible, Loeb says, that if it were sent intentionally by aliens after spotting our planets this way, its orbit's tilt would make sense.
Loeb also points out that 3I/ATLAS has shown seven unusual traits, including its size, the jets it produces, its composition, how its light is polarized, its tilt, timing, and how its direction matches the famous “Wow! Signal.” However, he says it is still not clear whether these oddities are just coincidences for a naturally occurring comet, or if they are signs of some kind of intelligent planning.
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