There’s An UFO Headed Towards Earth.. | Joe Rogan

Harvard Professor Suggests Interstellar Object “31 Atlas” is an Alien Probe

A mysterious object dubbed 31 Atlas is currently hurtling toward the inner solar system at an astonishing speed, and its sheer size and unusual trajectory have led one prominent Harvard scientist to suggest it might be an alien spacecraft.

The object, which was officially identified on July 1st, 2025, has become the subject of intense study after its likely dimensions were calculated using data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory.

The Massive Size and Bizarre Speed

New analysis has revealed the nucleus (main body) of 31 Atlas to be roughly 7 miles (or 11.2 kilometers) in diameter.

To put this in perspective, this makes it larger than Mount Everest (which is approximately $5.5$ miles in diameter at its base) and about twice the size of Mount Kilimanjaro (approximately $4$ miles in diameter).
This makes it the largest interstellar object ever detected, significantly dwarfing previous discoveries like ‘Oumuamua (discovered in 2017 and believed to be around $0.2$ miles wide) and Comet Borisov (discovered in 2019 and roughly $0.6$ miles wide).

Furthermore, Professor Avi Loeb, a theoretical physicist and cosmologist from Harvard University, points to its incredible velocity as a sign of intelligent origin. The object is moving at an “impressive speed of 130,000 mph (or $60$ km/s).” Loeb argues it’s “difficult to imagine a natural process that would favor a plunge towards the inner solar system” at such a high speed, suggesting instead that the object “targets the inner solar system by some technological design.”

Is it a Probe? The Controversy

Professor Loeb’s suggestion that 31 Atlas could be an alien spacecraft has met with skepticism from other experts:

Skeptics’ View: Chris Lintott, an astronomer at the University of Oxford, dismissed the idea, telling Live Science that any suggestion of it being artificial is “nonsense and nonsense on stilts,” viewing the claims as an “insult” to the exciting scientific work being done to understand the object.
Unique Trajectory: The object is reportedly on a direct path with Earth, and its trajectory makes it difficult to detect as it is coming from behind the Sun. The earliest estimates place its closest approach to Earth in 2027.

The unusual way the object is traveling—without a comet-like tail—and its massive size fuel the debate over whether it is a natural phenomenon or a technologically guided object.

The Legacy of ‘Oumuamua and Other Mysteries

Professor Loeb has previously offered similar analysis regarding another famous interstellar visitor, ‘Oumuamua, suggesting its strange metallic appearance and acceleration indicated it was not a natural object.

The mysterious behavior of such objects, coupled with other astronomical oddities, adds to the fascination with extraterrestrial life:

Martian Structures: Recent observations have shown large structures on Mars that appear to be “perfect squares” or right-angled foundations, with one structure estimated to be hundreds of meters or even miles across. This fuels speculation about ancient Martian civilizations.
The Mexican Pilot Account: A historical anecdote from 1976 involves a Mexican pilot, Rafael Pacheco Perez, who allegedly fell into a trance while flying and began channeling an alien intelligence. A translated message from the recording claimed that the human race is the “only intelligent race in the universe that still uses war” and that “someone’s going to step in” if humanity does not stop engaging in large-scale conflict and using nuclear weapons. The pilot, who never flew again, had his career ruined despite a certificate confirming he was in perfect health and drug-free.

The discovery of massive, fast-moving interstellar objects like 31 Atlas continues to challenge our understanding of the cosmos and keeps the question of extraterrestrial contact alive.