Could 3I/ATLAS be more than just a comet? What if it serves as an intergalactic vessel for life? Recent discoveries by NASA have unveiled organic compounds on 3I/ATLAS, prompting Harvard scientist Avi Loeb to propose that this comet might act as an "interstellar gardener," spreading life across the universe.
Loeb posed an intriguing question while discussing his theory with the Post: "Could there be microbes or other life forms present on 3I/ATLAS? If such a comet harbored microbes, they would likely have survived the journey."
This speculation stems from findings made by NASA’s SPHEREx spacecraft, which utilizes near-infrared technology to explore cosmic phenomena, as reported by BBC’s Sky At Night Magazine. The SPHEREx team focused their observations on ATLAS in December, ultimately detecting organic molecules, including methanol, cyanide, and methane—substances that could serve as building blocks for life as we know it on Earth.
Interestingly, astronomers noted a dramatic increase in brightness from ATLAS two months following its closest approach to the sun. This brightness surge occurs when the sun heats these icy celestial bodies, causing them to release trapped gases like water vapor, carbon dioxide, and carbon monoxide.
Carey Lisse, the lead researcher from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland, commented, "We are now observing a typical assortment of primordial Solar System materials, including organic matter, soot, and dust that comets typically emit."
Phil Korngut, a scientist from Caltech involved in the SPHEREx mission, pointed out that the sun's energy might have liberated a "cocktail of chemicals" that had been sealed away from space for billions of years. This revelation has certainly caught the attention of Avi Loeb, who has speculated before that ATLAS could be an extraterrestrial craft distributing the ingredients for life throughout the cosmos.
In a recent blog post on Medium, Loeb expressed his astonishment at the detection of methane, given its low sublimation temperature, suggesting that it should have evaporated long before the other gases that were identified. "This is puzzling because methane tends to evaporate more readily than carbon dioxide, which we observed earlier," Loeb stated.
The presence of methane raises intriguing possibilities: either it was deeply buried within the comet and only surfaced when exposed to sunlight, or it could be a byproduct of living organisms, as Loeb theorized. "Perhaps it’s not simply a matter of ice evaporating due to sunlight; the methane might be produced by thriving life forms, especially when illuminated, similar to how life emerges suddenly."
Loeb goes further, suggesting that ATLAS might have been engineered to distribute microbes throughout space by a benevolent "interstellar gardener" aiming to proliferate life.
He even proposed an innovative idea: what if we launched an "interceptor spacecraft" designed to collide with ATLAS during its fly-by past Earth on December 19? The plan would involve our craft depositing a capsule containing Earth’s microbial seeds into the comet, along with radioactive material to maintain warmth, thus enabling these interstellar passengers to grow and multiply within the comet's environment.
When ATLAS eventually reaches another solar system, Loeb imagines that this interstellar delivery mechanism would start to evaporate, dispersing Earth’s microbes like dandelion seeds. He regards this approach as more practical and cost-effective than developing a new rocket capable of matching the comet's staggering speed of 137,000 miles per hour.
However, by now, that spaceship concept has become a mere thought experiment. In the meantime, Loeb encourages scientists to continue searching for additional signs of life in the gases surrounding ATLAS, sparking curiosity about the potential for life beyond our planet.
