In July 2025, news about a new study by American astrophysicists spread across the Internet. They allegedly discovered a hostile alien ship that was supposed to reach Earth in a few months. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.
Reports of the imminent arrival of aliens on Earth began to spread on July 27 and 28. Their authors write that scientists from Harvard University allegedly discovered in space a huge (24 km in diameter) and carefully camouflaged ship of another civilization, which should reach our planet by November. At the same time, the conclusions of scientists vary from publication to publication. Thus, the Telegram channel “Moscow is interesting” (225,000 views at the time of writing this analysis) reportsthat the possible target of a spaceship approaching Earth is an attack on humanity. Other resources, for example Lenta.ru, note that the object discovered by astronomers could be a disguised example of extraterrestrial spy technology, that is, it will be used to collect data on the Earth's population. Some publications such as Life.ru, remembered Vanga’s prediction, which says: in 2025, the population of the Earth will supposedly encounter extraterrestrial life for the first time.
They told their readers about a possible alien attack “Russian newspaper", Zakon.kz. Smotrim.ru And "News", as well as Telegram channels "Ax+"(2.4 million views at the time of writing this analysis), "Live broadcast • news"(876,000), "Moscow News"(740,000), "Dvach"(452,000), "First Moscow"(210,000), etc.
Most media outlets and Telegram channels reporting an imminent alien invasion refer to what was published on July 23 in the American tabloid New York Post note under the headline “Rare Interstellar Object the Size of Manhattan Could Be an Alien Probe, Harvard Scientists Say.” The publication, in turn, refers to study, published by a group of scientists led by astrophysicist Avi Loeb. In their work, they write about a mysterious body that is moving at high speed through the entire solar system. Researchers suggest that the object may be of artificial origin and be a kind of technological probe of an alien civilization. As evidence, scientists point to the object's anomalous non-gravitational acceleration, its unusual trajectory and unlikely approach to other planets - this suggests that the object is controlled by intelligent beings. On October 29, it will pass behind the Sun if observed relative to the Earth - the authors of the work interpret this as a possible tactical maneuver.
Loeb and his colleagues indicate the name of the interstellar object they are writing about: 3I/ATLAS. Its still July 1st recorded Chilean telescope ATLAS, its dimensions can achieve 15–20 km in diameter. This is the third such object after 1I/Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2017 and 2019, respectively. 3I/ATLAS will be closest to Earth on October 30, but scientists from NASA and European Space Agency they agree that this is a comet that poses no threat to the planet.
However, the authors of the article themselves write about the same thing, which attracted the attention first of the New York Post, and then of other media from different countries. They indicate that the most likely natural origin of the object, and directly in annotations the study is emphasized: it represents only a “pedagogical experiment,” while scientists call the analysis of the astrodynamics of the object additional. However, many publications and bloggers ignored these clarifications.
They also did not take into account the features of the arXiv platform, where astronomers published their research. Main principle The work of this resource is to support the widest possible dissemination of research, therefore the articles posted there do not undergo scientific peer review. As stated on the arXiv website, the content is solely the responsibility of the authors and all work is provided as is.
Viral publications also say that scientists from Harvard University spoke about an imminent meeting with aliens. The work that attracted media attention has three authors: Adam Hibbert, Adam Crowl and Avi Loeb. The first two are researchers from the Initiative for Interstellar Studies, they have nothing to do with Harvard. Loeb, indeed, professor and director of the Institute for Theory and Computation at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University. In 2018 he was already put forward a hypothesis about the artificial origin of another interstellar object discovered by astronomers - 1I/Oumuamua. At the time, Loeb also based his assumptions on its unusual acceleration and shape, suggesting that it could be a probe deliberately sent by aliens closer to Earth. In 2022, Professor presented the theory that a meteorite that burned up eight years earlier in the skies over Papua New Guinea could be an “artifact of alien technology.” Both of these hypotheses were rejected scientific community.
Thus, the article, which the media and Telegram channels presented under the guise of a scientific discovery, was in fact a “pedagogical experiment” and was published on a platform that did not provide for prior scientific review. The authors, only one of whom works at Harvard University, did not claim that humanity will encounter aliens in November - they only admitted that the interstellar object discovered shortly before could be controllable. At the same time, they agree with NASA’s conclusions that, most likely, this is not an alien spacecraft, but a comet.
Cover photo: Masterpiece AI
- Snopes. Probing claim that interstellar object is 'most likely' an alien ship heading towards Earth
- NASA. Comet 3I/ATLAS
- Have British scientists claimed to have discovered evidence of the existence of aliens?
- Is it true that Stephen Hawking warned humanity about the dangers of contact with alien civilizations?
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