Avi Loeb: A Remarkable New Anomaly of 3I/ATLAS 23.11.2025

• An Extraordinary New Anomaly of 3I/ATLAS
  by Avi Loeb
  Let us suppose, hypothetically, that the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS is a mothership that was designed to seed Jupiter with technological devices. What would be the largest distance from Jupiter that this interstellar gardener should arrive at?
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  For that purpose, 3I/ATLAS must arrive within Jupiter’s radius of gravitational influence — the so-called Hill radius, inside of which Jupiter’s gravity overcomes the gravitational tide from the Sun. Interior to that radius, Jupiter’s gravity wins over the Sun’s gravity and can keep low-speed orbiters bound without the Sun ripping them away. The Lagrange points L1 and L2 of force equilibrium are located at the Hill radius and are ideal locations for technological satellites, since orbital corrections and fuel requirements are minimal there.
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  Jupiter’s Hill radius is given by the equation:
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  H=R*(m/3M)^{1/3},
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  where R is Jupiter’s distance from the Sun at the particular time of interest, m is Jupiter’s mass and M is the Sun’s mass. 3I/ATLAS is expected to get to its closest distance from Jupiter on March 16, 2026. The Jupiter-Sun separation on that date will be R=783.8 million kilometers. Substituting this value in the above equation together with (m/3M)^{1/3}=0.06826, yields the Hill radius of Jupiter on March 16, 2026:
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