A theoretical physicist has suggested that if mysterious comet 3I/ATLAS were an 'alien spaceship', it could change course for Earth tomorrow (29 October).
For those of you out there who haven't heard about comet 3I/ATLAS, here's a brief refresher.
On 1 July, researchers at NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) identified the mystery space rock, adding that it was the third interstellar object to enter our solar system in recorded history.
No one knows where the comet came from, and it's certainly sparked interest amongst researchers, with Harvard's Avi Loeb suggesting a 30 to 40 per cent scenario where 3I/ATLAS was not a 'naturally formed' object.
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"The hypothesis in question is that [3I/ATLAS] is a technological artefact, and furthermore has active intelligence. If this is the case, then two possibilities follow," Loeb wrote in the paper alongside fellow Harvard researchers Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl.
"First that its intentions are entirely benign and second they are malign."
To be clear, Loeb isn't saying we're about to be invaded by hostile, super-advanced aliens, but instead that we can't definitively rule out the possibility.
In fact, the comet has been showing some unusual behaviour, such as growing a tail and an anti-tail in recent days.
This is something natural causes can explain, but it's also fun to speculate about a scenario in which the comet is actually an alien reconnaissance craft manoeuvring.
Loeb hasn't given up on his belief that 3I/ATLAS could be an extraterrestrial mothership, previously telling science communicator and The Big Bang Theory actor Mayim Bialik that he believes 29 October is the day to keep in your calendar.
"If you want to take a vacation, take it before [October 29], because who knows what will happen?" he told her in a video interview.
Again, Loeb isn't telling us to run for the hills as green men in flying saucers are about to take over. But if that scenario were to happen, then the point when comet 3I/ATLAS is closest to the sun - also known as its perihelion - would be a good contender date.
Loeb went on to explain why he believes 3I/ATLAS's perihelion could be a potential date for making contact with Earth, thanks to the Oberth effect.
Put simply, the Oberth effect is a hypothesis that a spacecraft burns fuel more efficiently at higher speeds, as a form of energy conservation.
"As a result of this so-called Oberth effect, it is most energy-efficient for a spacecraft engine to burn its fuel when its orbital velocity is greatest," he explained.
"If 3I/ATLAS is a massive mothership, it will likely continue along its original gravitational path and ultimately exit the Solar System. In that case, the Oberth manoeuvre might apply to the mini-probes it releases at perihelion towards Solar system planets."
Should Loeb's predictions be correct and the comet does turn out to be a spaceship, then it's not all doom and gloom, as the scientist doesn't believe the aliens would necessarily be hostile.
"They are much more sophisticated they wouldn't care much about us and it's actually an opportunity for us to learn about the future technologies that they posses," he added.
"It would take us a long time to develop ourselves so for us it will be a learning experience."
Brenna Cooper