3I/ATLAS could display its 'most remarkable anomaly' near Jupiter - Rare coincidence at perijove

3I/ATLAS is set to fly by Jupiter on March 16, 2026, and this is where its "most remarkable" anomaly might come to the fore. The interstellar comet will be 53.445 million kilometres from the gas giant at its closest point, or perijove. This is almost identical to the planet's expected Hill radius at the time, 53.502 million kilometres. The Hill radius is the region around Jupiter, or any cosmic body, inside which its gravity dominates that of the bigger object, in this the Sun. Any small object placed outside this radius will be removed from Jupiter by the Sun’s gravity. Harvard scientist Avi Loeb says this is quite a coincidence, and might be exactly when the object's "most remarkable anomaly" might come to light.

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Loeb says if at perijove, "the rare coincidence between the perijove distance of 3I/ATLAS and the Hill radius materialises," then it could be a sign of "technological signature." Being at this point, it could release "technological devices as artificial satellites of Jupiter." This could potentially happen at the planet's Lagrange points L1 and L2 on the Hill sphere, where orbital corrections and fuel requirements are minimal."

3I/ATLAS non-gravitational acceleration and Jupiter's Hill radius?

He says the "coincidence between the perijove distance and the Hill radius" based on the diameter of Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun has a statistical likelihood smaller than 0.00004. Loeb states that the non-gravitational acceleration observed when 3I/ATLAS was near the Sun could have something to do with it. Maybe it needed this acceleration "to achieve this match." In this case, "the rare coincidence will constitute the most remarkable anomaly of 3I/ATLAS," he says.

More clarity will be gained on the perijove distance and Jupiter's Hill radius in the coming months, particularly by the spacecraft Juno, Juice or Psyche.