3/I Atlas - comet or alien probe? - my thoughts as an amateur space enthusiast on why it could possibly be a probe, if it turns out to be one...

       First it was Oumuamua in 2017, then 2/I Borisov (2019) and now 3/I Atlas (2025). While the first 2 managed to whizz through our solar system at mind-numbing speeds and people had their own doubts and suspicions about them, nothing has made quite the buzz online and on news channels like the visit of 3/I Atlas. Professor Avi Loeb claims that it could most likely be a space probe while his colleagues are swift to dismiss his claim, its anomalous behaviour points to the contrary. So what if it is a space probe?, is humanity prepared to think of what this could lead to?, what would be the implications of this flyby?. Everything about this newcomer from its angle of entry into the solar system to its chemical composition seem to lend more credence to its possibility of being a space probe from another star system. Here are my thoughts in support of professor Avi's conclusions based on the data about this interstellar visitor assuming hat 3/I Atlas is indeed an alien space probe

i) Angle of entry into the solar system - coincidence or planned ? :

                            The angle of entry of 3/I Atlas with respect to the plane of the Solar system appears to be convenient to say the least and has been chosen to maximise its observation time of our inner solar system and its planets while the outer solar system is largely ignored. This seems to be all too good to be true as a pure product of a chance occurrence as the possibility of that is very low. If 3/I Atlas' angle of entry with respect to the plane of rotation of our planets were perpendicular at a 90 degree angle to our Solar System's plane, then given its high velocity, it will be left with very less time to study and observe our inner planets. In fact the very reason why 3/I atlas' velocity, as mind-bogglingly high as it is from humanity's perspective, is still a far cry from that of Oumuamua for instance is because of its angle of entry into the Solar system at an acute angle to the planetary rotational plane as we will see later. On the other hand, if 3/I Atlas' trajectory were more in line with the Solar system's plane, then it will be too obvious to us - the observers on Earth that it is an Alien Space Probe. To this end, the angle of entry of 3/I Atlas is neither perpendicular nor parallel to the Solar System's planets' orbital plane but very close to the orbital plane of the inner planets of our Solar System - bearing all the telltale hallmarks of a stealth space probe while buying it sufficient time to observe and study all of the inner Solar System's planets.

ii) Angle of entry into the Solar System - a sign of using the inner planets' gravitational fields to slow down just enough to maximise dwell time in the inner solar system (gravitational braking) for study purposes and using the slingshot manoeuvre to move out ?:

            While many astronomers are focussed on the timing of 3/I Atlas being so perfect that it can just use the gravitational fields of  Jupiter, Venus, Earth and Mars to use the slingshot manoeuvre to exit our Solar System. What many overlook is the possibility that if we were to assume that if 3/I Atlas were indeed an alien space probe based on its anomalous characteristics like astronomers' discovery of nuclear radiation emitted from its insides - a sign that it could have a tiny nuclear reactor powering its CO2 cloud in front of it rather than forming an elongated cometary tail stretching thousands of miles into space. Its high velocity could be a sign that its interstellar velocity could have been much higher than 138,000 mph which is its current purported velocity - maybe a fraction of the speed of light using space-time warping technology via its internal nuclear power source?. So what we are seeing now as space enthusiasts and astronomers is the effect of gravitational braking on 3/I Atlas which is likely to have been imperceptible and slow down even further in a sequential manner given its trajectory close to the plane of our Solar System before increasing again due to the slingshot manoeuvre. The seamlessness of this deceleration of 3/I Atlas as it closes in on the inner Solar System is due to the tactical use of the gravitational fields of Jupiter, Venus, Mars and Earth by 3/I Atlas to slow itself down like a Maglev train before picking up speed again using the same fields as it leaves our Solar System.

iii) Invisibility of 3/I Atlas from the Earth on its closest approach - coincidence or use of stealth to hide its surface and operations behind the sun using the Sun's electromagnetic field?:

      This again works on the premise that 3/I Atlas is indeed a Space Probe from another star system. There is a certain point in its flyby when 3/I Atlas is hidden from view of our telescopes as it passes behind the Sun. If we were to work on the assumption that it is a space probe from another star system, you will be surprised to note that there is more to why it is hidden from view of our telescopes and our devices than we realise. While 3/I Atlas has an electromagnetic field generated by its nuclear reactor, something that can both influence and be influenced by the planets of the inner Solar System as well as the Sun, this electromagnetic field is nothing compared to the Sun's electromagnetic field. Could it then be that 3/I Atlas is using the Sun not just to hide itself from our view but also using the Sun's more powerful EM field to hide any secret transmissions from the probe itself to its otherworldly senders during that period when it is closest to the Earth? - this is an interesting thought to ponder on, what is more is that if 3/I Atlas were hidden from our view when it is closest to us, there is no telling what actually the probe does when it is hidden from our view, nor can we tell anything about its interactions with our Sun at that critical juncture.

iv) The frontal cloud of CO2 being a product of nuclear plasma fission/fusion at 3/I Atlas' core - could it be for radio silence for low EM transmission observability from the frontal aspect as observed from Earth?

     Anyone with an idea of fission/fusion reactions will know that if the rate of the reactions at the reactor core is increased, so will the resultant electromagnetic fields generated by the nuclear plasma assuming that it is a reactor that deals with nuclear plasma. If we were to assume that 3/I Atlas were indeed a stealthy alien space probe, then it would make sense if nuclear reactions at its core are used to increase not just the CO2 cloud in front of it but this would also imply that any transmissions in the electromagnetic spectrum would be impossible from its frontal aspect because of the resultant high intensity frontal aspect EMF generated by the reactor core, the intensity of this field would continue up to a certain point at the rear as required only to protect any covert transmissions by the probe from us, this holds true even though communications would be possible from the rear where the EMF would be less compared to its frontal aspect where the CO2 cloud is more intense. This increased observability of EM transmissions at the rear of 3/I Atlas could again be a contributing factor to the next point in our discussion.

v) Angle of entry of 3/I Atlas close to the Sun's North Pole and exit below Jupiter's South Pole - coincidence or planned?:     

    All heavenly bodies have magnetic fields, some more intense than others and also magnetism teaches us that there are certain points in a magnetic field where the field strength will be higher owing to the higher density of magnetic flux lines in those areas of the object generating that magnetic field, e.g. near its poles. In light of point no. iv) where the EMF of 3/I Atlas would be lowest at its rear aspect to facilitate communication in the EM spectrum with its original Star system, it would then make perfect sense why 3/I Atlas moves out of our view at its closest approach at an angle which would take it just close enough to the Sun's North pole where the Sun's EM field would be densest and most powerful thereby masking 3/I Atlas' vulnerable low rear aspect observability via receivers, transponders or radio telescopes on Earth. Yet another aspect is how 3/I Atlas moves along a trajectory which would take it just below Jupiter's South pole thereby decreasing 3/I Atlas' rear observability from Earth yet again on its way out of our Solar System - again the heavenly body in our Solar System with the second most powerful EMF next to the Sun's EMF. All of this seems to make sense if we view 3/I Atlas along the perspective of professor Avi Loeb. 

Conclusion: 
                    While much of this is based on my own understanding of 3/I Atlas based on whatever information that I was able to glean from online sources, it is a thought-provoking endeavour to embark on this journey of inquiry even as more data is pouring in every day, as 3/I Atlas approaches our Sun. Many on Earth are concerned about what is about to unfold in the course of the next few months before 3/I Atlas starts its outbound journey from our Solar System, maybe they wonder whether it would come to Earth as a probe leading to a possible encounter between humans and a species from some other star system or it could be grounded on more tangible outcomes like the effect of 3/I Atlas on the Earth's magnetic field leading to increased tectonic/volcanic activity on Earth or increased Solar flares on the Sun which could endanger satellite communication on Earth. Such increased Solar magnetic storms could be the outcome of EM interactions between 3/I Atlas and the Sun as the former comes closer, since increasing the activity of the nuclear core in 3/I Atlas could possibly increase its EMF leading to more interactions between the EM fields of Sun and inner planets of the Solar System, conversely magnetic storms in the Sun triggered by EM interactions with incoming bodies like 3/I Atlas could also increase nuclear activity within the Sun causing Solar flares of greater intensity.  Either way, we still have time to wait and see what happens over the course of the next few months in this regard.