Comet 41P Could Be Alien ‘Trojan Horse’: Hubble Detects Dramatic Rotation Reversal
The interstellar object 3I/ATLAS has not yet completely left the Solar System, but the famous Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has already found a new subject for sensationalism.
The latest analysis of Hubble data has revealed something important. Comet 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresak, commonly known as Comet 41P, suddenly slowed its rotation. Then it completely reversed its direction.
This is the first documented observation of a comet reversing its rotation. The short-period Comet 41P returns to the inner Solar System every 5.4 years.
During its close approach, Hubble made a key detection. Something had significantly slowed the comet’s rotation. This happened over just a few months.
Such dramatic fluctuations are not typically conducive to the longevity of celestial bodies. However, Professor David Jewitt from the University of California, Los Angeles, has made calculations. According to them, Comet 41P has been in its current orbit for about 1,500 years.
In his articles published on Medium and in The Astronomical Journal, Jewitt offers two most likely scientific explanations.
Can 41P be considered an artificial object?
The Hubble Space Telescope observed the comet’s nucleus during a period of unusually high activity. In this case, the rate of mass loss was greatly overestimated. The torque from outgassing was also too high. As a result, the comet’s actual lifetime was underestimated.
The nucleus of 41P is the surviving fragment of a much larger body. This body was much less affected by gas emissions.
However, Avi Loeb proposes a third, much more plausible theory. In his opinion, Comet 41P/Tuttle–Giacobini–Kresak could be a true “Trojan horse”. On the outside, it looks like an ordinary block of ice. But inside, alien technology is hidden.
“A change in the direction of rotation could very well be a signal to Earthlings,” the astrophysicist believes.
A comet just changed direction. YouTube video by Professor Avi Loeb.
Loeb frankly admits something important. If Professor Jewitt had mentioned the technological hypothesis in the official paper, it likely would not have been published. That is why this theory is completely absent from the published work.
“But here, on my blog, there are no reviewers to stop me,” he adds.
In any case, the Hubble data remains important. It is the first officially documented case of a comet’s rotation reversal. This is in the history of observational astronomy.
It was previously reported that renowned world astrophysicists announced that comet 3I/ATLAS would soon perform a new, mysterious gravitational maneuver and would likely leave our solar system forever.
