1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,359 Speaker 1: Imagine looking up into the night sky, well not really 2 00:00:03,399 --> 00:00:06,320 looking up directly, but thinking about something out there, something huge, 3 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:11,519 maybe wider than Manhattan Island. And imagine this, This visitor 4 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,640 has traveled across that immense darkness between stars right arise 5 00:00:15,679 --> 00:00:18,960 here in our solar system, and then just starts breaking 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,960 all the rules, like fundamental rules of how things are 7 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,320 supposed to work out there. It's not acting like a comet, 8 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:27,839 not an asteroid, not like any natural rock we know. 9 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:31,039 Speaker 2: Welcome to the deep dive. And yet today we are 10 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:36,399 really digging into an extraordinary interstellar object. Its designation is 11 00:00:36,439 --> 00:00:38,200 three I Atlas. 12 00:00:37,679 --> 00:00:40,719 Speaker 1: Three I, so the third interstellar object we've confirmed, that's. 13 00:00:40,679 --> 00:00:44,079 Speaker 2: Right, the third one officially confirmed passing through. And the data, well, 14 00:00:44,119 --> 00:00:47,119 it's been compiled meticulously, hundreds of researchers involved. It's not 15 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:51,560 just surprising, it's genuinely challenging some foundational ideas about physics 16 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:53,920 and frankly probability in space. 17 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: So our mission today for you listening is to go 18 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,880 way beyond just the headlines. We're trying to piece together 19 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,960 these different anomalies, you know, things like it's chemical makeup 20 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:08,799 looking well, kind of industrial, and it's light signature defying gravity. 21 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:12,200 We want to understand where the scientific community actually stands 22 00:01:12,239 --> 00:01:12,519 on this. 23 00:01:12,719 --> 00:01:16,519 Speaker 2: Yeah, is this just an incredibly, incredibly rare natural thing 24 00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,359 or does the sheer weight of all these contradictions maybe 25 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,640 point towards something something else? 26 00:01:22,879 --> 00:01:24,799 Speaker 1: And that leads to the really big question, doesn't it. 27 00:01:25,079 --> 00:01:28,680 Why are serious scientists leading one saying this one object, 28 00:01:28,719 --> 00:01:33,920 this uninvited guest warrants immediate global policy changes, Like right. 29 00:01:33,719 --> 00:01:36,280 Speaker 2: Now, exactly what does it mean when we say something 30 00:01:36,359 --> 00:01:39,439 is truly anomalous? And what are the implications? It's not 31 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,879 just theory, So let's dive right into that core physical problem, 32 00:01:42,879 --> 00:01:44,680 the thing that kicked this whole debate off. 33 00:01:44,719 --> 00:01:47,079 Speaker 1: Okay, let's get into the physics here. So when anything 34 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,560 comes into the solar system, right, the first job is 35 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,319 tracking it, mapping its path, and that relies totally on gravity, 36 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:55,599 Newton's laws, all that predictable stuff. 37 00:01:55,879 --> 00:01:59,200 Speaker 2: Uh huh. And for three i AT lists, researchers pulled 38 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:03,280 together this massive data set. We're talking four thousand observations, 39 00:02:03,319 --> 00:02:05,879 four thousand wow, Yeah, from two hundred and twenty seven 40 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:08,639 observatories all over the world. Months and months of tracking, 41 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:10,120 just incredible coordination. 42 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,319 Speaker 1: Okay, so they map its path and. 43 00:02:12,319 --> 00:02:17,400 Speaker 2: The initial result after all that work was almost boringly simple. 44 00:02:17,879 --> 00:02:21,120 The object did not deviate at all. Its path was 45 00:02:21,159 --> 00:02:25,919 shaped purely by gravity, followed the Sun, Jupiter, Everything just perfectly. 46 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:28,599 Speaker 1: Right, like a well behaved rock, just coasting through. So far, 47 00:02:28,719 --> 00:02:30,159 so normal, maybe exactly. 48 00:02:30,159 --> 00:02:32,120 Speaker 2: If that was the only thing we saw, we'd just say, Okay, 49 00:02:32,319 --> 00:02:36,360 big dense object, endo story. But here's the wrench in 50 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:38,039 the works, the big contradiction. 51 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:40,439 Speaker 1: Ah, okay, here it comes. 52 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,080 Speaker 2: At the same time, it was perfectly obeying gravity. The 53 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,360 Hubble Space telescope. This was images around July twenty first 54 00:02:46,599 --> 00:02:50,280 confirmed it was actively shedding material, losing mass how much 55 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,560 mass and astonishing one hundred and fifty kilograms every second? 56 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:55,840 Speaker 1: Wait, one hundred and fifty kilos per second. That's a 57 00:02:55,879 --> 00:02:59,080 lot like three people's worth of mass just vanishing every second. 58 00:02:59,159 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, vaporizing off the object streaming away in the direction 59 00:03:01,759 --> 00:03:02,159 of the Sun. 60 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: Evaporation basically Okay, but wait, if it's losing mass in 61 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:11,039 one direction facing the Sun, shouldn't that like push it 62 00:03:11,159 --> 00:03:12,400 like a tiny rocket? 63 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,159 Speaker 2: Exactly. That's where basic physics kicks in. Losing mass like 64 00:03:16,199 --> 00:03:19,759 that in a specific direction creates what astronomers call a 65 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:24,199 non gravitational force. It should be pushing the object gently 66 00:03:24,599 --> 00:03:25,240 away from. 67 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:27,719 Speaker 1: The sun, like how commets get pushed off course slightly 68 00:03:27,759 --> 00:03:28,280 by their. 69 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,919 Speaker 2: Tails, decisely. Every comment we know that outgases shows this deviation. 70 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:35,520 It's measurable, it's predictable, tiny push, but it's there. 71 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,479 Speaker 1: But you said three I out lists show no deviation zero. 72 00:03:38,919 --> 00:03:41,639 Speaker 2: It behaved as if that constant stream one hundred and 73 00:03:41,639 --> 00:03:44,400 fifty kilograms every single second had absolutely no effect on 74 00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:46,879 its speed or its path. It just refused to be pushed. 75 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:49,199 Speaker 1: Hang on, you've got a force pushing it, the evaporation, 76 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,319 but it's acceleration. It's change in motion is zero. That 77 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:53,919 doesn't add up, right, F equals mod. 78 00:03:54,039 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 2: That's the core of it. Newton's second law force equals 79 00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:00,120 mass times acceleration. You can measure the force at F 80 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,039 from the mass loss we observe the acceleration A is zero. 81 00:04:03,159 --> 00:04:05,039 Speaker 1: So the only thing left is M the mass. 82 00:04:05,319 --> 00:04:08,039 Speaker 2: Exactly for the object to not accelerate even with that 83 00:04:08,159 --> 00:04:13,919 significant continuous force pushing it, its mass almost be well incredibly, 84 00:04:13,960 --> 00:04:15,199 almost impossibly large. 85 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:16,959 Speaker 1: Okay, so how large are we talking? What did the 86 00:04:16,959 --> 00:04:18,240 calculation show. 87 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:21,000 Speaker 2: To resist that measure? One hundred and fifty kilograms thrust 88 00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,279 and still stick perfectly to a gravity only path. The 89 00:04:24,319 --> 00:04:27,079 research is calculated a minimum mass, it has to be 90 00:04:27,079 --> 00:04:29,480 more massive than thirty three billion tons. 91 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:34,079 Speaker 1: Thirty three billion with a b ton billion tons. 92 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 2: Yes, and remember that number comes directly from combining the 93 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,680 observed mass loss with the observed lack of deviation. It's 94 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,560 a direct consequence of those two conflicting observations. 95 00:04:44,639 --> 00:04:47,720 Speaker 1: That's mind boggling. So if it's that massive, what does 96 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,680 that mean for its size? Assuming it's made of rock? 97 00:04:50,839 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 2: Right, if you assume a density comparable to solid rock, 98 00:04:54,199 --> 00:04:56,519 that mass means it needs a diameter bigger than five. 99 00:04:56,439 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: Kilometers, five kilometers wider than Manhattan Island. 100 00:04:58,959 --> 00:05:00,759 Speaker 2: Like you said at the start, stantially wider. 101 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:04,000 Speaker 1: Okay, but that calculation assumes a solid density, right could 102 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,040 that be? Hang? What if it's I don't know, fluffy 103 00:05:06,519 --> 00:05:09,040 or hollow, wouldn't that change the mass needed? 104 00:05:09,199 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 2: That's a really important question. Yeah, and yes, the thirty 105 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,040 three billion tons in the five kilometer diameter, those represent 106 00:05:15,079 --> 00:05:17,720 the lower limit needed if it's behaving like a standard comet, 107 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,759 where the force is just simple evaporation. Ah, Okay, if 108 00:05:20,759 --> 00:05:23,120 it were say hollow shell, it would still need an 109 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:25,759 enormous amount of mass in that shell made of really 110 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,600 dense stuff to resist the push, or or it would 111 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,680 need some kind of active propulsion system to cancel out 112 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,600 the thrust from the mass loss to perfectly counteract it. 113 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,319 The point is, no matter how you slice it, whether 114 00:05:38,399 --> 00:05:42,439 dense rock or something structured, its resistance to being pushed 115 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,399 is just wildly improbable for any natural comet we understand. 116 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:50,040 Speaker 1: So basically, its motion implies it's impossibly massive unless it's 117 00:05:50,199 --> 00:05:53,160 well not natural, which leads straight to the rarity problem, 118 00:05:53,199 --> 00:05:55,519 doesn't it. If it is just a giant rock, why 119 00:05:55,639 --> 00:05:57,279 is this the first really big one we see? 120 00:05:57,360 --> 00:05:59,680 Speaker 2: Precisely, this thing is estimated to be at least a 121 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:04,839 thousand times more massive than the last famous interstellar visitor, Umama. 122 00:06:05,319 --> 00:06:08,399 In no way Borisov. Borisov was the comet. Oma was 123 00:06:08,399 --> 00:06:10,839 the first one. Borisov was tiny, like a couple of 124 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:12,040 football fields, maybe. 125 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:14,079 Speaker 1: Right tiny compared to this and our. 126 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,079 Speaker 2: Models, you know, based on how much dust and debris 127 00:06:17,079 --> 00:06:19,279 we think is floating around out there between the stars, 128 00:06:20,079 --> 00:06:24,519 they suggest we should see thousands, maybe millions of small 129 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:28,120 things like Borisov before we ever encounter something this enormous. 130 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,399 Speaker 1: It's like you've never seen a single speedboat come sailing 131 00:06:31,399 --> 00:06:34,000 in from the interstellar ocean, and then suddenly the very 132 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:36,879 first thing that docs is an aircraft carrier. 133 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 2: That's a great analogy. Yeah, based on the expected density 134 00:06:40,079 --> 00:06:43,720 of material out there, seeing something this big arrive even 135 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:49,959 just once per decade is statistically really really unlikely, highly anomalous. 136 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: So it makes you question the models themselves or question 137 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:54,519 the object both. 138 00:06:54,639 --> 00:06:58,000 Speaker 2: Really, are our models of interstellar stuff wrong? Or is 139 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:00,680 there something fundamentally different about this object that makes its 140 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:05,199 size non random? The sheer improbability, statistically speaking, suggests we 141 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:07,839 might need a new category for things like this. And 142 00:07:07,879 --> 00:07:10,959 the strangeness doesn't stop with the physics of motion. The 143 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:13,639 contradictions bile up when you look at the chemistry. What 144 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:15,720 is this thing actually made of based on the stuff 145 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:16,199 it's shedding? 146 00:07:16,279 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: Okay, so what did they find in that one hundred 147 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:19,160 and fifty kilogram stream. 148 00:07:19,319 --> 00:07:23,399 Speaker 2: Well, what's really fascinating and frankly puzzling is the detected nickel, 149 00:07:24,199 --> 00:07:28,199 but crucially without the expected amount of iron. 150 00:07:28,360 --> 00:07:30,759 Speaker 1: Nickel without iron, why is that weird? Don't they often 151 00:07:30,759 --> 00:07:31,720 occur together. 152 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,279 Speaker 2: Exactly in natural bodies, you know, comets meteorites, especially the 153 00:07:35,279 --> 00:07:38,560 really old pristine ones called chondrites. Nickel and iron almost 154 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:41,879 always show up together and pretty predictable ratios because of 155 00:07:41,879 --> 00:07:43,160 how they form in space, how. 156 00:07:43,079 --> 00:07:45,439 Speaker 1: They condense, So seeing one without the other in the 157 00:07:45,439 --> 00:07:47,920 expected proportion is unusual, very. 158 00:07:47,879 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 2: Unusual when you see a big difference, especially this much 159 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:54,399 nickel compared to the iron detected. Yeah, the natural explanation 160 00:07:54,439 --> 00:07:56,560 starts to look shaky. I mean, sure, there are natural 161 00:07:56,560 --> 00:07:59,920 processes that can separate elements sometimes, but on this scale 162 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:02,959 it makes you think, think what well. One possibility that 163 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:05,360 researchers have definitely raised is looking at where you do 164 00:08:05,519 --> 00:08:08,839 find lots of nickel, often without so much iron, and 165 00:08:08,839 --> 00:08:14,199 that's an industrial manufacturing, specifically nickel alloys nickel holurys like. 166 00:08:14,199 --> 00:08:16,519 Speaker 1: Man made materials or. 167 00:08:17,439 --> 00:08:21,319 Speaker 2: Alien made well artificials maybe the better term here. High 168 00:08:21,399 --> 00:08:25,560 nickel alloys, things like incnal or HASTELOI. Engineers use them 169 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:30,079 all the time. They're incredibly strong, resistant to heat, corrosion, radiation. 170 00:08:30,199 --> 00:08:31,319 Speaker 1: Why would we use them. 171 00:08:31,360 --> 00:08:37,879 Speaker 2: Oh, jet engine parts, turbine blades, nuclear reactor components, and yeah, absolutely, 172 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:41,320 spacecraft structures, things that need to be super durable handle 173 00:08:41,399 --> 00:08:45,120 extreme stress. But maybe without the sheer weight of pure 174 00:08:45,159 --> 00:08:46,000 iron or steel. 175 00:08:46,399 --> 00:08:51,240 Speaker 1: So the chemical signature itself hints at something manufactured, designed 176 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,919 for surviving, maybe interstellar travel. 177 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:57,000 Speaker 2: It's a strong hint. Yes, it doesn't prove anything, but 178 00:08:57,879 --> 00:09:01,720 finding nickel without its usual natural troll buddy iron definitely 179 00:09:01,759 --> 00:09:05,639 opens the door to considering materials engineered for extreme performance. 180 00:09:05,799 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 1: Wow. Okay, so the chemistry points one way, the physics 181 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:10,759 points another. What about how it interacts with light? You 182 00:09:10,799 --> 00:09:12,159 mentioned that was strange. 183 00:09:11,799 --> 00:09:15,159 Speaker 2: Too profoundly strange. It shows what's called extreme negative polarization. 184 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,279 Speaker 1: Okay, negative polarization break that down for us. Polarization is 185 00:09:18,320 --> 00:09:21,080 like different with the sunglasses, right, blocking glare. 186 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:24,879 Speaker 2: That's the basic idea. Light waves vibrate in different directions. 187 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:29,360 Polarized sunglasses block the horizontal vibrations that cause glare off 188 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,840 say wet road or water. When sunlight hits something in space, 189 00:09:34,200 --> 00:09:36,799 the light that bounces off the scattered light carries a 190 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:40,159 polarization signature. It tells you something about the smurf as 191 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:40,480 it hit. 192 00:09:40,879 --> 00:09:43,519 Speaker 1: So what does negative polarization usually tell you? 193 00:09:43,639 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 2: Positive polarization is typical for smoother, denser surfaces, but negative 194 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,600 polarization it's usually associated with surfaces that are extremely dark 195 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,799 and really porous or fluffy, almost fractal, like fine dust 196 00:09:57,159 --> 00:09:59,200 or the loose regolith on an asteroid surface. 197 00:09:59,279 --> 00:10:01,600 Speaker 1: But wait, if this thing has to be thirty three 198 00:10:01,639 --> 00:10:04,399 billion tons and five kilometers wide to explain its motion, 199 00:10:04,879 --> 00:10:07,919 that sounds pretty solid and dense, not fluffy dust exactly. 200 00:10:07,960 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 2: That's the paradox. The trajectory analysis screams, I am incredibly 201 00:10:11,159 --> 00:10:14,200 massive and dense, but the way it scatters light screams, 202 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:16,000 I am like porous, fluffy dust. 203 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:18,519 Speaker 1: So the light itself contradicts the mass calculation. 204 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:22,279 Speaker 2: It's another deep contradiction. Yes, the internal chemistry seems off, 205 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:25,360 the external light reflection seems off, and the motion seems impossible. 206 00:10:25,759 --> 00:10:28,799 They're all telling conflicting stories about what this object is. 207 00:10:28,919 --> 00:10:31,240 Speaker 1: Okay, this is getting weirder and weirder. And then there 208 00:10:31,279 --> 00:10:35,360 was something visual, something Hubble actually saw that was strange. 209 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:40,399 Speaker 2: Yes, the clincher, visually speaking, is this peculiar glow or 210 00:10:40,440 --> 00:10:43,279 maybe tail that was observed extending towards the sun. 211 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: Towards the sun. Don't comet tails always point away from 212 00:10:46,360 --> 00:10:48,519 the sun, pushed by sunlight and solar with. 213 00:10:48,639 --> 00:10:52,519 Speaker 2: Always that's comets one oh one. The tail is the 214 00:10:52,639 --> 00:10:55,360 dust and gas being blown back away from the star. 215 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,000 It trails behind the comet nucleus. 216 00:10:57,600 --> 00:10:58,159 Speaker 1: Like a wake. 217 00:10:58,879 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 2: Precisely d eye Atlas in that hubble image showed a 218 00:11:02,639 --> 00:11:05,279 distinct light feature extending from the front of the object, 219 00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:07,919 pointing back towards the Sun. And it wasn't just a 220 00:11:07,960 --> 00:11:10,840 faint haze. It was quite specific, measured to be about 221 00:11:10,879 --> 00:11:13,159 ten times longer than it was wide, highly. 222 00:11:12,919 --> 00:11:15,519 Speaker 1: Colimnated, so it had a tail coming out of its forehead. 223 00:11:15,759 --> 00:11:19,039 Speaker 2: That's the analogy researcher started using it the cat with 224 00:11:19,080 --> 00:11:23,600 a tail coming from its forehead, because it just completely 225 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,879 defies the physics of how commentary tails form. That light 226 00:11:26,919 --> 00:11:30,759 structure is actively fighting against solar wind and radiation pressure. 227 00:11:30,799 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: How is that even possible? If it's evaporating stuff towards 228 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:35,799 the sun, shouldn't that stuff immediately get blown back? 229 00:11:35,919 --> 00:11:38,559 Speaker 2: That is the multi billion ton question. Isn't it for 230 00:11:38,639 --> 00:11:41,559 that material or whatever is causing the light to stay 231 00:11:41,559 --> 00:11:44,720 there glowing brightly in front of the object confined in 232 00:11:44,799 --> 00:11:49,039 that shape. It's just a few possibilities. Either the object 233 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:53,000 is somehow actively shielding that area, neutralizing the solar pressure, 234 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:57,240 or the light isn't coming from simple evaporated material being 235 00:11:57,279 --> 00:12:00,480 pushed around at all. Maybe it's something else entirely a 236 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:04,200 focused energy emission, an internal heat source creating a glow 237 00:12:04,240 --> 00:12:07,279 that just happens to point sunward. We don't know. But 238 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:11,960 the combination, the mass resistance, the weird chemistry, this gravity 239 00:12:11,960 --> 00:12:15,039 defying light, it makes the case for this being something 240 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:19,240 beyond normal astronomy really really compelling. Okay, So we have 241 00:12:19,279 --> 00:12:23,320 this enormous, perplexing visitor cruising through our solar system, and 242 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:25,480 the clock is ticking in terms of our chances to 243 00:12:25,519 --> 00:12:29,960 study it up close. Celestial mechanics dictate some pretty tight windows, right, and. 244 00:12:29,919 --> 00:12:32,639 Speaker 1: There are a couple of key moments happening like right now, 245 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:33,720 aren't there exactly? 246 00:12:33,759 --> 00:12:36,879 Speaker 2: The first one is it's close approach to Mars. That's 247 00:12:36,879 --> 00:12:40,080 happening around October third, basically this week. It's passing within 248 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:42,559 about twenty nine million kilometers of Mars. 249 00:12:42,399 --> 00:12:44,519 Speaker 1: Still pretty far, but closer than it's been to anything 250 00:12:44,559 --> 00:12:45,799 else with our hardware nearby. 251 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:49,279 Speaker 2: Yes, and researchers are trying to use that proximity. They've 252 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,279 tasked NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbit or MRO. 253 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:55,840 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, mro's got that amazing camera high rise. 254 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:58,919 Speaker 2: Exactly they're trying to point the high rise camera at 255 00:12:58,919 --> 00:13:02,639 three i atlas. Now, even at twenty nine million kilometers, 256 00:13:03,039 --> 00:13:06,399 high rise, which usually takes incredibly detailed shots of the 257 00:13:06,399 --> 00:13:10,039 Martian surface, won't get a super sharp picture of Alice. 258 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 1: So what's the point? What can they learn from a 259 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:12,879 blurry dot? 260 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 2: Even if the object only takes up say one pixel, 261 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:19,240 or maybe just a few pixels, even a thirty kilometer 262 00:13:19,279 --> 00:13:23,000 pixel size, that could be hugely informative. 263 00:13:23,159 --> 00:13:23,600 Speaker 1: Oh. 264 00:13:23,639 --> 00:13:25,840 Speaker 2: Just measuring the brightness of that pixel or those few 265 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:29,799 pixels tells scientists about the object's total surface area that's 266 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:33,440 reflecting sunlight. Getting a better handle on its true surface 267 00:13:33,480 --> 00:13:36,000 area is critical. It helps them refine the models of 268 00:13:36,039 --> 00:13:38,879 how reflective it is it's albedo, and that reduces the 269 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:40,639 uncertainty in the size calculations. 270 00:13:40,879 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: Ah, so if it turns out to be much darker 271 00:13:43,039 --> 00:13:44,960 than they assumed, it might have to be even bigger 272 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,000 than five kilometers to reflect the light they're seeing precisely. 273 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:51,840 Speaker 2: It helps constrain the possibilities so that Mars observation attempt 274 00:13:51,879 --> 00:13:53,759 is happening right now. Then comes the really. 275 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,000 Speaker 1: Big one, that close encounter with the sun perihelium. 276 00:13:56,519 --> 00:13:59,440 Speaker 2: Right, that's scheduled for October twenty ninth, closest approach to 277 00:13:59,480 --> 00:13:59,799 the Sun. 278 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:02,639 Speaker 1: But there's a problem with observing that, Isn't there. 279 00:14:02,519 --> 00:14:06,240 Speaker 2: A massive problem just due to the orbital alignments Where 280 00:14:06,279 --> 00:14:09,120 Earth is where Atlas is where the Sun is, Earth 281 00:14:09,159 --> 00:14:11,600 will be on the completely opposite side of the Sun 282 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:15,519 during that critical time, will be effectively blind, a total 283 00:14:15,639 --> 00:14:20,120 observational blackout during its closest, highest energy encounter with the Sun. 284 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,159 Speaker 1: Okay, that's inconvenient timing or is it? This leads to 285 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,720 what researchers are calling the purposeful orbit question. 286 00:14:26,960 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 2: Exactly. Think about it. If you are an interstellar probe 287 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:32,600 and you wanted to change your course through a star 288 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:36,279 system using the least amount of your own fuel, where 289 00:14:36,320 --> 00:14:36,919 would you do it? 290 00:14:37,159 --> 00:14:40,840 Speaker 1: Use the star's gravity right, a slingshot maneuver, absolutely, And. 291 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:43,960 Speaker 2: This single best place to get the biggest gravitational kick, 292 00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:48,279 most efficient course change is right at perihelion, the closest 293 00:14:48,279 --> 00:14:49,000 point to the star. 294 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:51,200 Speaker 1: And if you also happen to do that maneuver when 295 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:53,240 the planet you came from or the one you're interested 296 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:55,720 in can't see you because the star is in the way. 297 00:14:55,919 --> 00:14:59,120 Speaker 2: It provides the perfect cover maximum efficiency for the maneuver, 298 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:04,279 maximum concealent from observation. If this object is technological, this 299 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,159 is precisely the time and place it would choose to 300 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:11,120 adjust its trajectory and we'd be completely unaware while it happened. 301 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:15,559 Speaker 1: Wow. So the ultimate test, the real nailbiting moment, comes 302 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:17,360 after this blackout period ends. 303 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,759 Speaker 2: That's the scenario everyone's focused on. It's almost like something 304 00:15:20,759 --> 00:15:23,559 out of a movie. If three I Atlis emerges from 305 00:15:23,559 --> 00:15:26,759 behind the Sun, it's on a different trajectory. 306 00:15:26,279 --> 00:15:27,600 Speaker 1: Even slightly different. 307 00:15:27,399 --> 00:15:30,399 Speaker 2: Even slightly different from what pure gravity predicts, taking into 308 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:33,720 account the Sun, Jupiter, everything that would be it undeniable 309 00:15:33,759 --> 00:15:37,399 proof of non natural maneuvering controlled propulsion. And that's why 310 00:15:37,399 --> 00:15:39,759 the sources we looked at mentioned while they flat out 311 00:15:39,799 --> 00:15:41,200 said the stock market will crash. 312 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,879 Speaker 1: Yeah, it sounds dramatic, but it's meant to convey the 313 00:15:43,879 --> 00:15:48,120 sheer scale of the disruption. If non human controlled technology 314 00:15:48,159 --> 00:15:52,360 is confirmed in our solar system, the geopolitical, philosophical, economic, 315 00:15:53,639 --> 00:15:58,120 everything impact would be immediate and staggering. It fundamentally changes 316 00:15:58,159 --> 00:16:00,759 everything we assume about our place and the cause. It's 317 00:16:00,759 --> 00:16:04,360 not just hyperbole. Then it reflects a potential systemic. 318 00:16:03,879 --> 00:16:08,360 Speaker 2: Shock absolutely now, assuming it doesn't maneuver, assuming it emerges 319 00:16:08,399 --> 00:16:11,440 on the expected path, ye, what happens next? 320 00:16:11,559 --> 00:16:15,480 Speaker 1: Okay, So if it behaves like a rock after perihelium, then. 321 00:16:15,399 --> 00:16:18,039 Speaker 2: It becomes visible again to us here on Earth sometime 322 00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,879 in November, maybe into December. Its actual closest approach to 323 00:16:21,879 --> 00:16:25,399 Earth happens in December. That gives us one last relatively 324 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,759 close window to really study it intensely before it heads out. 325 00:16:28,799 --> 00:16:29,919 Speaker 1: And where does it go after that? 326 00:16:30,399 --> 00:16:33,440 Speaker 2: The trajectory takes it out towards the gas giants. It 327 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,799 makes its closest pass by Jupiter on March sixteenth, twenty 328 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,600 twenty six, and after that, assuming no course surprises, it's 329 00:16:40,639 --> 00:16:43,519 expected to leave the Solar System entirely head back out 330 00:16:43,519 --> 00:16:44,679 into interstellar space. 331 00:16:44,919 --> 00:16:47,240 Speaker 1: Okay, but there's still that lingering question. 332 00:16:47,279 --> 00:16:49,559 Speaker 2: If it is technological, then you have to consider the 333 00:16:49,559 --> 00:16:53,399 probe hypothesis. Is the main object just a carrier? Could 334 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:56,279 it have released smaller probes, smaller instruments while I was 335 00:16:56,279 --> 00:16:58,720 passing through the inner Solar System, maybe aimed at the 336 00:16:58,720 --> 00:16:59,279 planets like. 337 00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:02,399 Speaker 1: An aircraft care you're launching planes, or a submarine deploying 338 00:17:02,399 --> 00:17:03,559 smaller drones. 339 00:17:03,399 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 2: Exactly that analogy, and researchers involved with projects like the 340 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,319 Galileo project are actively looking for this. They have observatory 341 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,880 set up Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Nevada specifically monitoring the space around Earth. 342 00:17:14,279 --> 00:17:16,839 They're listening and watching, especially in the months after three 343 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:21,160 ILISS close approach for any signs of unusual, fast moving 344 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:24,519 maybe small objects that weren't there before, looking for those 345 00:17:24,559 --> 00:17:25,680 potential subprobes. 346 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:28,519 Speaker 1: Okay, so the idea that three I at lists might 347 00:17:28,519 --> 00:17:31,160 be some kind of technological probe, maybe even dropping off 348 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:35,559 smaller probes. That idea gets another layer of well eerie 349 00:17:35,839 --> 00:17:39,119 context when you connect it to something from history, something 350 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:41,559 astronomers have puzzled over for decades. 351 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,119 Speaker 2: Yes, we have to talk about the Wow signal. 352 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,319 Speaker 1: The Wow signal probably the single most famous candidate signal 353 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,240 in the whole history of SETI, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. 354 00:17:51,319 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 2: Absolutely August fifteenth, nineteen seventy seven, the Big Year Radio 355 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:59,240 telescope at Ohio State picks up this incredibly strong narrowband 356 00:17:59,319 --> 00:17:59,960 radio signal. 357 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:04,400 Speaker 1: Narrowband meaning like artificial, not like natural radio noise exactly. 358 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,960 Speaker 2: It had all the hallmarks of potential manufactured transmission. It 359 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,319 was powerful, tightly focused on one frequency and stood out 360 00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:15,720 dramatically from the background cosmic noise. The astronomer who found 361 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:18,839 it on the computer print out, Jerry Emon, famously just 362 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,119 scribbled wow next to it. 363 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 1: And the big mystery was it never repeated? Right? They 364 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:25,839 kept listening to that patch of sky, but it was 365 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:29,160 just that one intense burst that's right gone. 366 00:18:29,759 --> 00:18:33,039 Speaker 2: Its origin remains one of the great unsold puzzles in astronomy. 367 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:37,559 Was it et Was it some weird, unknown natural phenomenon. 368 00:18:37,839 --> 00:18:41,480 Was it some undetected terrestrial interference? Nobody knows for sure. 369 00:18:41,599 --> 00:18:44,400 Speaker 1: Okay, so how does three iatlists connect to this nineteen 370 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:45,960 seventy seven mystery signal? 371 00:18:46,039 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 2: Here's the really mind bending part. Researchers when they tracked 372 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:52,039 three iatlists' path backwards to figure out where it came 373 00:18:52,039 --> 00:18:54,559 from in the sky, they found that its direction of 374 00:18:54,599 --> 00:18:57,400 origin is coincident with the direction the WOW signal came 375 00:18:57,400 --> 00:18:59,119 from back in nineteen seventy seven. 376 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,279 Speaker 1: Wait coincident? How close are we talking? The sky's huge 377 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:04,559 things must line up by chance, sometimes you'd. 378 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:08,319 Speaker 2: Think so, But this alignment is remarkably close. The two 379 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:11,119 directions where Atlas came from and where the WOW signal 380 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:13,559 came from are within about nine degrees of each other 381 00:19:13,599 --> 00:19:14,039 on the sky. 382 00:19:14,599 --> 00:19:17,880 Speaker 1: Nine degrees is that statistically significant? 383 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:21,880 Speaker 2: Highly significant? When they crunched the numbers, the probability of 384 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:25,079 a randomly arriving interstellar object just happening to come from 385 00:19:25,079 --> 00:19:29,759 the same direction as that specific, famous, unexplained radio signal, 386 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,680 the chance is calculated to be only point six percent. 387 00:19:33,799 --> 00:19:36,480 Speaker 1: Zero point six percent, less than one percent chance of 388 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:37,960 it being random coincidence. 389 00:19:38,039 --> 00:19:41,559 Speaker 2: That's the calculation. Yet it's an incredibly improbable. 390 00:19:41,039 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: Okay that that sends a shiver down your spine, doesn't 391 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:47,200 It Could three I Atlas actually be the thing that 392 00:19:47,279 --> 00:19:49,720 sent the Wow signal almost fifty years ago and it's 393 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:50,880 only just arriving now. 394 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:54,599 Speaker 2: It certainly raises that astonishing possibility. The alignment suggests that 395 00:19:54,599 --> 00:19:57,039 if the WOW signal was sent by something moving, maybe 396 00:19:57,039 --> 00:20:00,240 something using propulsion, perhaps it took this long for the 397 00:20:00,279 --> 00:20:02,960 transmitter itself to coast into our system after sending the 398 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:08,400 signal ahead. 399 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:12,359 Speaker 1: Weight, untethered a possible source finally showing up Wow. 400 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:17,000 Speaker 2: So naturally, this statistical bombshell has triggered an immediate response 401 00:20:17,079 --> 00:20:18,279 in the scientific community. 402 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:21,519 Speaker 1: They must be listening right, pointing radio telescopes at it now. 403 00:20:21,599 --> 00:20:25,480 Speaker 2: Absolutely, a global appeal has gone out. Radio observatories everywhere 404 00:20:25,519 --> 00:20:29,079 are being encouraged to dedicate time to observe three iat 405 00:20:29,119 --> 00:20:33,119 LISS listening carefully for any kind of radio transmission coming 406 00:20:33,119 --> 00:20:33,400 from it. 407 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:34,960 Speaker 1: Now are they hearing anything? 408 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,519 Speaker 2: Nothing reported so far, But we are absolutely in the 409 00:20:38,559 --> 00:20:42,559 active listening phase. Given that historical context zero point six 410 00:20:42,599 --> 00:20:45,920 percent alignment, you have to check, you have to listen. 411 00:20:46,119 --> 00:20:48,839 This is the moment, perhaps the only moment, to see 412 00:20:48,839 --> 00:20:52,279 if the potential biker we've spotted is also talking on 413 00:20:52,279 --> 00:20:52,880 a cell phone. 414 00:20:52,880 --> 00:20:55,000 Speaker 1: So whether this object turns out to be the weirdest 415 00:20:55,079 --> 00:20:58,680 natural thing ever found or something else. The sheer number 416 00:20:58,720 --> 00:21:01,599 of unanswered questions, the scale of the anomaly has already 417 00:21:01,640 --> 00:21:05,960 pushed the conversation beyond just science labs. Right, It's reached 418 00:21:06,400 --> 00:21:07,960 like global policy levels. 419 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:11,160 Speaker 2: It really has, which is remarkable in itself. A formal 420 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:13,240 letter has actually been sent to the United. 421 00:21:13,039 --> 00:21:14,839 Speaker 1: Nations the UM about this one. 422 00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:18,680 Speaker 2: Object, essentially yes, encouraging the UN to set up a 423 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,359 dedicated international committee specifically to deal with objects like this. 424 00:21:23,079 --> 00:21:25,880 Speaker 1: Why now, is it just because Atlas is so strained 425 00:21:26,039 --> 00:21:27,400 or is there a bigger picture? 426 00:21:27,799 --> 00:21:31,119 Speaker 2: It's both. The justification is partly Atlas itself, but also 427 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:34,880 the realization that we're entering a completely new era of 428 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:39,079 discovering these interstellar visitors. How So, because of new observatories 429 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:43,960 coming online, particularly the Ruben Observatory, its survey power is 430 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:48,400 just immense. Once it's fully operational, scientists expect we'll be 431 00:21:48,480 --> 00:21:52,240 finding a new interstellar object, something from outside our solar system, 432 00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:53,240 maybe every few months. 433 00:21:53,319 --> 00:21:53,920 Speaker 1: Every few months. 434 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:54,160 Speaker 2: Wow. 435 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:55,960 Speaker 1: So three IYE Atlas isn't just a one off. It's 436 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,279 like the first big wave of many more to come. 437 00:21:58,440 --> 00:22:01,200 Speaker 2: Very likely. Yes, the frequency of detect is about the skyrocket. 438 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:04,039 So the idea behind this U and committee is we 439 00:22:04,079 --> 00:22:06,119 need a plan. We need a way to look at 440 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:09,119 the outliers in this coming stream of visitors, the ones 441 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:11,240 like atlasts that show really weird anomalies. 442 00:22:11,279 --> 00:22:12,440 Speaker 1: And what would this committee do? 443 00:22:12,839 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 2: Establish protocols assess potential risks, I mean, even a natural 444 00:22:17,279 --> 00:22:19,759 object this big could be a thread if it hits something, 445 00:22:20,319 --> 00:22:25,599 but crucially, also develop a framework to objectively evaluate whether 446 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,839 any of these outliers might actually be technological in origin. 447 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:32,119 Right now, we have no international body equipped to even 448 00:22:32,279 --> 00:22:34,920 handle that kind of data or possibility. 449 00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,720 Speaker 1: So this is about preparing for what they call a 450 00:22:37,759 --> 00:22:42,000 black Swan event, right, something unlikely maybe, but with massive 451 00:22:42,039 --> 00:22:43,640 game changing impact if it happens. 452 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,720 Speaker 2: That's exactly the framing, and it highlights a crucial difference. 453 00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:49,319 We know how to think about preparing for natural threats 454 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,960 like asteroids the dinosaur killer type. We build telescopes to 455 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:56,799 find them, we theorize about deflecting them. It's an engineering problem. 456 00:22:56,519 --> 00:22:58,759 Speaker 1: Essentially, but a technological object. 457 00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:01,160 Speaker 2: Is a fundamentally different challenge. We don't know the intent, 458 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:04,440 we don't know the capabilities. All our usual defense thinking 459 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,920 based on rocks and gravity becomes potentially irrelevant. 460 00:23:08,279 --> 00:23:10,559 Speaker 1: That brings us back to that analogy you mentioned, the 461 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:11,440 ants and the biker. 462 00:23:11,759 --> 00:23:13,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a vivid one. Imagine ants living in a 463 00:23:13,759 --> 00:23:16,480 crack in the pavement. Their whole world is that crack. 464 00:23:16,839 --> 00:23:20,079 Then one day a bicycle tire rolls past. The ants 465 00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:25,319 might perceive something a shadow, a vibration, a brief blockage 466 00:23:25,319 --> 00:23:28,440 of the sky, but they have absolutely no framework to 467 00:23:28,519 --> 00:23:32,160 understand what a bicycle or rider even is. They can't 468 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:34,200 communicate with it, they can't influence its path. 469 00:23:34,319 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: And we might be the ants in that scenario looking 470 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:37,400 up at three iyeatlis. 471 00:23:37,599 --> 00:23:40,200 Speaker 2: It's a humbling possibility to consider. Isn't it that we 472 00:23:40,279 --> 00:23:44,119 might be facing something so far beyond our current technological 473 00:23:44,359 --> 00:23:45,880 or even philosophical grasp. 474 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:50,519 Speaker 1: So preparedness isn't just about building bigger rockets to intercept things. 475 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 2: Not at all. It's about building the decision making architecture. 476 00:23:53,640 --> 00:23:55,920 What do we do if it does maneuver after Perihelian? 477 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,759 Who decides the response? Do we try to communicate? Do 478 00:23:58,839 --> 00:24:03,599 we just watch? We need internationally agreed upon contingency plans 479 00:24:03,599 --> 00:24:08,119 for different scenarios, because a fragmented, panicked reaction would be disastrous. 480 00:24:08,599 --> 00:24:12,079 We need to decide as a species how we'd handle confirmation. 481 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: You know. One interesting side effect of all this outside 482 00:24:15,039 --> 00:24:17,319 the UN meeting rooms is how the public seems to 483 00:24:17,319 --> 00:24:21,920 be reacting. It feels different this time compared to say, 484 00:24:22,039 --> 00:24:23,640 ummumua a few years back. 485 00:24:23,759 --> 00:24:26,599 Speaker 2: Definitely, there seems to be much more openness now to 486 00:24:26,680 --> 00:24:31,279 taking the anomaloust data seriously, to considering the profound implications 487 00:24:31,319 --> 00:24:34,920 without immediate dismissal. The level of public interest is huge. 488 00:24:35,119 --> 00:24:38,240 Speaker 1: I saw that figure, sixty thousand views of one scientific 489 00:24:38,359 --> 00:24:42,359 essay about it in a single day. That's incredible engagement. 490 00:24:42,599 --> 00:24:44,920 Speaker 2: It is, and it's inspiring because it shows people are 491 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:48,759 connecting with science, not as some finished, dusty thing, but 492 00:24:48,799 --> 00:24:52,720 as this dynamic, unfolding process discovery is happening right now. 493 00:24:52,839 --> 00:24:56,200 It gets people thinking, asking questions, maybe even inspires some 494 00:24:56,319 --> 00:24:58,240 young people to go into science because they see it 495 00:24:58,319 --> 00:25:00,720 still full of massive, unaninswered questions. 496 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:05,519 Speaker 1: But realistically, the big systemic changes shifting huge government budgets, 497 00:25:05,559 --> 00:25:08,359 building new space infrastructure that probably doesn't happen just because 498 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:10,519 of weird data, does it. It probably needs proof. 499 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,279 Speaker 2: Sadly, that's likely the reality. Historically, major shifts in resource 500 00:25:15,279 --> 00:25:19,079 allocation often follow a confirmed event, not just the possibility 501 00:25:19,079 --> 00:25:21,480 of one. But if confirmation ever. 502 00:25:21,319 --> 00:25:24,559 Speaker 1: Came, if at Liss maneuvers or we detect a clear 503 00:25:24,599 --> 00:25:26,160 techno signature, then the long. 504 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,480 Speaker 2: Term consequences could be immense and maybe in some ways 505 00:25:29,799 --> 00:25:34,279 ultimately positive for humanity politically, spiritually, could something like this 506 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,480 finally unite us, make us realize our petty conflicts down 507 00:25:37,519 --> 00:25:40,160 here are meaningless compared to the cosmic picture. 508 00:25:40,279 --> 00:25:43,359 Speaker 1: You can see defense budgets instantly shifting towards space right 509 00:25:43,359 --> 00:25:47,960 and towards detection, maybe even interception or communication capabilities aimed outwards, 510 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:48,680 not at each other. 511 00:25:48,759 --> 00:25:53,079 Speaker 2: Absolutely billions, maybe trillions, reallocated, a whole new economic and 512 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:57,960 research landscape focused on space security and exploration on an unprecedented. 513 00:25:57,359 --> 00:26:02,559 Speaker 1: Scale, and just our mindset how we see ourselves fundamentally changed. 514 00:26:02,839 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 2: We'd go from thinking of ourselves as alone on this 515 00:26:05,279 --> 00:26:09,079 one planet to being citizens of a potentially crowded cosmos, 516 00:26:09,319 --> 00:26:12,680 part of a much larger community. That conversation, thankfully is 517 00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:16,279 starting now, spurred by three eye atlas. But the real 518 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:20,720 deep structural change that likely waits for unambiguous confirmation. 519 00:26:20,839 --> 00:26:22,920 Speaker 1: Well, this has certainly been a deep dive. We've looked 520 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,680 at an object three eyeatless that seems to be just 521 00:26:26,519 --> 00:26:31,039 a bundle of contradictions, a stack of physical impossibilities, almost. 522 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:33,599 Speaker 2: Just to recap the big ones. You've got that seemingly 523 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,960 impossible mass needed to explain why its path didn't change 524 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:38,880 despite shedding onder fit Tequilos a second. 525 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,559 Speaker 1: Then the weird chemistry, the nickel without the iron, hinting 526 00:26:42,559 --> 00:26:44,000 maybe at artificial. 527 00:26:43,559 --> 00:26:48,279 Speaker 2: Alloys, and visually that bizarre gravity defined light feature, the 528 00:26:48,359 --> 00:26:51,480 tail pointing towards the sun, the cat's forehead. 529 00:26:51,519 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 1: Taken together, it really pushes way beyond what we expect 530 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:56,440 from a normal comet or asteroid. 531 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,559 Speaker 2: It absolutely does. And the final thing we really want 532 00:26:58,599 --> 00:27:00,839 to leave you, the listener, with, is that this is 533 00:27:00,839 --> 00:27:05,440 happening now, This story is live. Those crucial observations, the 534 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,279 attempt to image it from Mars, the upcoming pass behind 535 00:27:08,319 --> 00:27:11,079 the Sun, the answers, or at least the next big 536 00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,240 clues could come literally any day or week now. 537 00:27:14,559 --> 00:27:17,480 Speaker 1: So whether three i at list ends up being filed 538 00:27:17,559 --> 00:27:22,279 under weirdest space rock ever or something else entirely, its 539 00:27:22,519 --> 00:27:26,160 mere presence, its strangeness, has already forced a really important 540 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,839 conversation at the highest levels globally about how we prepare, 541 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:32,519 how we assess threats, and maybe how we see our 542 00:27:32,519 --> 00:27:33,039 own future. 543 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:35,640 Speaker 2: And maybe that's the biggest takeaway for right now. If 544 00:27:35,759 --> 00:27:38,839 just the presence of this unknown, anomalous object makes us pause, 545 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,440 makes us reconsider our priorities down here, makes us think 546 00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:44,400 about uniting to face the cosmos, then maybe the most 547 00:27:44,400 --> 00:27:47,359 profound impact of three iat lists is the change in 548 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:51,200 human perspective that's happening before it even leaves our solar system. 549 00:27:51,559 --> 00:27:54,160 The question is, what action will you take with this knowledge?