Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS appears to emit its own light: Harvard scientist

Interstellar object 3I/ATLAS — which is zooming through our inner solar system — appears to be emitting its own light, according to Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb.

The observation by Loeb, if verified, would contradict NASA’s classification of the Manhattan-sized object as a comet, the scientist argues in a new blog post . 4

Loeb and a colleague analyzed photos released by NASA of the object in determining that the source of its glow is likely not from the sun.

The astrophysicist wrote the “brightness profile around 3I/ATLAS implies that the nucleus dominates the observed light.”

“The simplest interpretation is that the nucleus of 3I/ATLAS produces most of the light,” he wrote in the paper published Sunday.

The level of light observed on 3I/ATLAS could be achieved “from a so