The SETI Institute has announced that their extensive radio scans of the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas have found no signs of alien technology. This confirmation comes after the comet was observed by several NASA spacecraft as it passed through our solar system last year.

Natural Origins Confirmed

Discovered last summer, 3I/Atlas was quickly identified as a comet originating from another star. Despite some speculation about potential extraterrestrial connections, SETI’s findings affirm its natural origins. This makes 3I/Atlas the third known interstellar object to visit our solar system, all of which have been deemed natural.

SETI conducted over seven hours of radio observations using their Northern California telescope, identifying nearly 74 million narrow-band radio signals. After filtering out human interference and signals related to the comet’s movement, the remaining signals were traced back to Earth-based technology or satellites.

Implications for Future Searches

Valeria Garcia Lopez of Furman University, a co-author of the study published in the Astronomical Journal, emphasized the importance of continuing the search for technosignatures. The study highlights the feasibility of detecting signals with current technology, underscoring the need for ongoing exploration.

SETI’s lead author, Sofia Sheikh, noted that NASA’s Voyager spacecraft will eventually become interstellar objects in other star systems. This serves as a reminder that interstellar technological objects are a real possibility, as evidenced by human-made probes like Voyager.

The comet, estimated to be between 1,444 feet and 3.5 miles in size, is now almost 1 billion miles away as it returns to interstellar space. Scientists believe it could be as old as 11 billion years, making it twice as old as our sun.

Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.