Avi Loeb calls out bias against research on interstellar object 3I/ATLAS

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb recently spoke about the bias of researchers in studying the anomalies of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, implying that scientists are missing out on the opportunity to learn more about something new because they “display the arrogance of expertise.”

In a Medium blog post on December 9, 2025, Avi Loeb called out researchers and NASA for not taking the anomalies of 3I/ATLAS seriously, despite spending $90 million in research on the strange data regarding “sterile neutrinos,” which ultimately turned out to be nothing.

Consequently, he struggled to understand why the anomalies of 3I/ATLAS were not being studied in the same way. 

Be it an “icy rock” or a “spacecraft,” Loeb believes the anomalies it presents qualify it for a subject of deep exploration. 

Harvard scientist Avi Loeb points to sterile-neutrino research as he criticizes how scientists have dismissed the anomalies of 3I/ATLAS

Since 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object, with 1I/’Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov preceding it, Loeb believes there is not enough information within the community for researchers to call themselves an “expert of interstellar objects.”

According to the Harvard scientist, 3I/ATLAS displays 13 anomalies, and can not be taken lightly. Out of the 13, the anomaly that stands out to the Loeb is the “anti-tail of 3I/ATLAS.” 

After analyzing the images obtained before and after perihelion from the Hubble Space Telescope, he noted that the “physics of anti-tail of 3I/ATLAS” remains debatable, not conclusive. 

“The orientation flipped relative to the directions of motion at perihelion and is definitely not a matter of perspective, as is the case for some comets. What is the physics of the anti-tail of 3I/ATLAS?” he asked. 

According to Loeb, the anti-tail should have been swept “away from the Sun by the solar radiation and wind, but that is not the case for 3I/ATLAS, which displays a “sunward jet.”

“The anti-tail must therefore contain something else,” he added. 

The mysteriousness surrounding the interstellar object, he believes, should spark much curiosity within the space community, but it did not, which baffled him. 

He then spoke about “two major experiments” conducted in reference to anomalies in past data in search of sterile neutrinos. Loeb then mentioned that the studies utilized approximately $90 million, which he did not protest.

He believes the study of anomalies or attempts to explain strange behavior was “not a waste.”

“Testing potential explanations of anomalies, here in terms of a new ghost particle, is at the foundation of scientific frontiers that attempt to expand our scientific knowledge,” he said. 

Consequently, he struggled to understand why “self-declared experts” insisted on relying on past data on interstellar objects when studying the anomalies of 3I/ATLAS. 

Loeb noted that 3I/ATLAS came with a new set of anomalies that should open a new discussion on interstellar objects.

Loeb calls out “dogmatist” Chris Lintott for dismissing anything unusual as “nonsense on stilts,” especially in reference to 3I/ATLAS, when even the preliminary information about the interstellar object was not disclosed.

Loeb recalled how Lintott suggested that he remove a sentence from his research paper for it to get published. The sentence read as follows:

“If 3I/ATLAS is a solid object with a physical radius larger than 10 kilometers, then the limited interstellar reservoir of rocky materials would suggest that its trajectory favored a plunging orbit towards the inner Solar system, perhaps by technological design.”

However, Lintott’s suggestion did not stop Loeb, who went on to write more papers on the possibility of 3I/ATLAS being a technological object. 

That said, Loeb noted how no dogmatist ever questioned the failed study of sterile neutrinos, but came after the technological interpretation of the anomalies of 3I/ATLAS. 

As a result, he called out the bias in research, convinced that the study of “alien technology” would be more beneficial for society at large. 

Stay tuned for more updates.