The International Asteroid Alert Network (IAWN) has just announced a campaign to monitor 3I/ATLASthe enigmatic interstellar comet that will pass by Earth in December and will soon approach the Sun.
The notice was published by the Minor Planet Center (MPC) on the eve of the closest approach of this object, to take advantage of observing it at that key moment.
Let us remember that the IAWN is a global planetary defense collaboration with which experts detect, monitor and characterize asteroids and potentially dangerous near-Earth objects.
The notice explains that The organization will begin an observation campaign from November 27, 2025 to January 27, 2026“to introduce methods to improve astrometry from observations of comets.”
“The campaign will focus on comet 3I/ATLAS (C/2025 N1) to exercise the community’s observation capacity to extract accurate astrometry,” they point out.
Is comet 3I/ATLAS potentially dangerous?
Until now, has not been classified as a potential hazardbut some astronomers have stated that it should be in the spotlight, since It is a unique opportunity to observe an object that comes from outside the Solar System and will approach Earth only once.
In addition, much has been speculated about it due to the theories of Avi Loeb, famous Harvard astronomer who has suggested that there are probabilities – although very low – that this object is not a cometbut some technology extraterrestrial.
Regarding the IAWN advisory, Loeb wrote a blog on his website where he stated that “black swan (unlikely) events with small probabilities must be seriously considered if their implications for the future of humanity are great.“.
According to his studies, which he has been sharing in recent months since 3I/ATLAS was discovered last July, The comet has “surprising qualities” for which it was classified as 4 out of 10 on the Loeb scale.which he developed himself, to determine how likely it is that the object is not a comet.
All the factors that you have analyzed allowed you to add a cumulative probability less than one tenth (10^{16})“Therefore, it makes sense to use all available observational resources on Earth and in space to decipher the nature of 3I/ATLAS,” he said.
His boldest observation is that “yes it is a massive mothershipwill likely continue along its original gravitational path and eventually exit the solar system, while launching mini-probes near perihelion that could take advantage of the Sun’s gravitational assistance as they maneuver toward planets like Earth.”
It should be noted that, NASA has assured that the object is nothing more than a cometsince observations have clearly shown its tail. Loeb, on the other hand, has stated that Although their probabilities are low, there is no harm in exploring them.
3I ATLAS will have its closest approach to the Sun on October 29 and will approach Earth on December 19.
