The sudden and unexplained acceleration of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS after its encounter with the Sun has left NASA and top scientists like Michio Kaku and Avi Loeb stunned, as new data showing strange energy surges and trajectory shifts reignites emotional debate over whether we’re witnessing alien technology or a cosmic mystery beyond physics.

The astronomy world is in shock tonight after the Virtual Telescope Project released new data and imagery revealing that the interstellar object known as 3I/ATLAS has undergone an inexplicable transformation in deep space — one that NASA, Harvard scientists, and even theoretical physicist Dr.

Michio Kaku admit has “no logical explanation within known physics.”

According to reports released late Thursday, the object, first discovered earlier this year streaking through the outer edges of the solar system, suddenly altered its trajectory after its most recent encounter with solar radiation.

Unlike any known comet or asteroid, 3I/ATLAS has exhibited no signs of outgassing, the process by which comets release gas and dust as they approach the Sun.

Yet, despite this lack of propulsion, it accelerated sharply, changing both its direction and velocity — behavior that has baffled the world’s leading space agencies.

“This isn’t supposed to happen,” said Dr.

Kaku during an appearance on a live CNN segment Friday morning.

“Objects obeying the laws of physics don’t just speed up and turn in space without an external force.

Either we are witnessing an entirely new class of interstellar phenomena — or something far more deliberate.”

NASA confirmed in a brief press statement that their Deep Space Network had detected “anomalous energy fluctuations” near the object’s path shortly after its perihelion, the point where it passed closest to the Sun.

The data showed an unexplained surge in electromagnetic radiation coinciding with the object’s course shift.

At Harvard University, astrophysicist Dr.Avi Loeb — known for his controversial claim that 2017’s interstellar visitor ’Oumuamua could have been an alien probe — stated that 3I/ATLAS may represent “the second recorded case of a non-natural interstellar object.

” Speaking to reporters, Loeb said, “If it’s not outgassing, if it’s not reacting to solar pressure, and it’s accelerating, then we must at least consider intelligent control or technology. ”

What has heightened intrigue even further is that 3I/ATLAS’s current trajectory appears to align with the region of space where the famous “WOW! Signal” — a mysterious narrowband radio transmission detected in 1977 — was originally received.

Online forums and astronomy enthusiasts have erupted with speculation, suggesting that the alignment could be more than coincidence.

NASA, however, has urged caution.

Dr.Karen Gilbert, a spokesperson for the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told the press, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

While the data is unusual, there’s no proof at this point of extraterrestrial involvement.

We’re continuing to gather observations through multiple telescopes, including Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope.”

Still, the atmosphere in the scientific community is charged with both excitement and unease.

The Virtual Telescope Project, which first released the images earlier today, described the object as “flickering with irregular brightness,” possibly suggesting either a tumbling structure or an unknown reflective surface.

Some have compared this to the “light sail” hypothesis once proposed for ’Oumuamua — a theory that it might have been propelled by solar radiation through a thin, engineered material.

Dr.Kaku, known for his work on string theory and public science communication, added fuel to the fire by speculating that 3I/ATLAS could represent “an intentional probe — a message, or at least evidence that we are not alone.

” He cautioned, however, that more data was needed before jumping to conclusions.

“But make no mistake,” he added, “we are witnessing history unfold in real time.

This may be the moment that forces us to rethink our place in the cosmos.”

The European Southern Observatory and several observatories in Chile and Hawaii have now been redirected to monitor the object’s motion continuously.

Early data suggests that its acceleration may be increasing, an effect not yet accounted for by gravitational interactions.

If confirmed, this discovery could reshape our understanding of interstellar travel, the formation of cosmic objects, and perhaps even the possibility of technological civilizations beyond Earth.

For now, NASA and other agencies have agreed to release new tracking data to the public in the coming week, while researchers scramble to determine whether 3I/ATLAS is natural, mechanical, or something in between.

As Dr.Loeb put it bluntly during an interview late Friday: “If this is another rock, it’s the strangest one ever found.

But if it’s not — if it’s something built — then we’ve just had our first confirmed contact.”

Whatever 3I/ATLAS truly is, its sudden awakening in the cold silence of space has reignited one of humanity’s oldest and most haunting questions: Are we really alone — or have we just been noticed?