Joe Rogan and Elon Musk on Comet ATLAS: A Cosmic Threat?

In a recent episode of the popular podcast, the topic of the mysterious comet 3I/ATLAS, whose trajectory raises more and more questions, found resonance. The host, Joe Rogan, in conversation with Elon Musk, considered the potential consequences of a potential collision with the celestial body. The discussion took on even more interesting dimensions when Musk, albeit with some reservation, agreed with the idea that ATLAS might be an "alien ship", due to the unusual influence of something beyond gravity on its trajectory.

The reason for this conversation is precisely the comet 3I/ATLAS, whose dimensions are compared to those of Manhattan. It was initially claimed that last Thursday the comet would reach its closest point to the Sun. However, the situation took an unexpected turn. The comet began to perform a series of unusual maneuvers, passing suspiciously close to the planets Jupiter, Venus, and Mars. This led some scientists to question standard explanations and to suggest that it might be an extraterrestrial spaceship.

Musk emphasizes that regardless of its origin, the enormous size of ATLAS and the fact that it is composed almost entirely of nickel make it a potential "cosmic bomb", capable of "erasing a continent... maybe worse".

"That would be a real problem if it hits us", Rogan notes while talking to Musk. "It will probably kill most of human life."

Musk adds that the impact's impact depends on the object's total mass. He recalls the existence of five major extinction events in Earth's history, the largest of which - the Permian extinction - destroyed almost all life forms and lasted several million years. The Jurassic extinction is also mentioned, which he believes was caused by an asteroid. Musk emphasizes that cases of extinction that have only destroyed a single continent are not taken into account, as they leave no trace in the fossil record. "So, unless it's enough to cause a mass extinction on Earth, it doesn't show up in the fossil records, which are 200 million years old. So there have been many impacts that would have wiped out all life forms in half of North America or something like that over the course of history", he explains.

The shocked Rogan admits that humanity currently has no ability to deal with such a threat.

Initially, NASA.com assured the public that the comet would pass only 170 million miles from Earth at its closest point, meaning it would pose no threat.

However, given the recent change in ATLAS's trajectory, Harvard scientist Avi Loeb argued in a recent blog post that "non-gravitational acceleration may be the technological signature of an internal engine". He suggests that this reason may also explain the change in the comet's color – it has become brighter and blue – as it approaches the Sun.