Avi Loeb Keeps 3I/ATLAS At Rank 4 — Suspense Builds As New Data Looms

This x-ray image from ESA's XMM-Newton spacecraft shows interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS glowing red as gases streaming from the comet collide with the solar wind, producing low-energy x-ray emission. (Credit: Screenshot from X/Twitter)

Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb remains cautious about moving the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS from Rank 4 on his own Loeb Classification Scale.

The scale, which is between 0 (natural icy rocks) and 10 (alien technology), is used to measure the probability of artificial origin in objects in the interstellar.