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Astrophysicist Avi Loeb sat down with Greta Van Susteren on The Record to talk plainly about the interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS as it swept through our neighborhood, and he didn’t mince words about the unanswered questions still dogging this object. Loeb reminded viewers that science advances by curiosity, not by turf-protecting pronouncements from officialdom, and he urged more transparency and data instead of hurried conclusions.
For those who want to keep score, 3I/ATLAS is indeed the third confirmed interstellar object we’ve ever observed, first spotted by the ATLAS survey in July 2025 and tracked by NASA, ESA and ground observatories as it made a fast, hyperbolic pass through the solar system. Officials insist the object poses no threat to Earth — it will remain well outside our orbit — but that doesn’t mean the public shouldn’t demand a full accounting of what we’re seeing.
Loeb has repeatedly pointed to anomalies that strain the normal-comet explanation: unusual jets, a trajectory unusually aligned with the plane of the planets, uncommon composition reports and a rotation behavior that some say looks engineered rather than accidental. A scientist who defends curiosity and evidence over consensus, Loeb refuses to let bureaucratic complacency shut down the investigation into these oddities.
Predictably, a new paper by Marshall Eubanks and colleagues argues that the comet’s non-gravitational acceleration is fully explained by outgassing, using long-baseline astrometry from interplanetary spacecraft to back up the claim. That study is getting a lot of play in establishment outlets — and it should be taken seriously — but Loeb and others rightly point out that matching a familiar mechanism to certain motions does not dispel every anomaly, nor does it excuse sloppy or slow data-sharing.
Americans should be skeptical of any monopoly on truth exercised by experts who are too cozy with government narratives. When a respected academic like Loeb warns about missing pieces and calls out bureaucratic sluggishness — noting delays in releasing imagery and the need for independent scrutiny — that’s not wild alarmism, it’s accountability. Our nation was built on asking tough questions, not on meekly accepting the few who claim to know it all.
There is also a sober national-security angle here. An object from another star system passing through the inner solar system, even at safe distances, is exactly the sort of unknown that should trigger rapid, transparent monitoring by multiple independent teams — government, academic and private — not partisan dismissal. If we want to keep America safe and on the cutting edge, we need better funding for space situational awareness and a culture that rewards bold inquiry, not one that punishes contrarian scientists.
At the end of the day this story isn’t about sensational headlines; it’s about defending the American principles of open inquiry, rigorous skepticism and accountability from those in power. If bureaucrats are going to tell the public what to think, we should insist they first show their work, release the data, and allow independent minds to test official claims — because a free people deserve nothing less.
