Radio Telescopes Find No Traces of Technology on Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

Astronomers were unable to detect signs of artificial activity on 3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object to visit our Solar System. Researchers from the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute reached this conclusion after analyzing radio signals from the object using the Allen Telescope Array in California. Comet 3I/ATLAS was first recorded by the ATLAS system on July 1, 2025, making it the third confirmed interstellar visitor after 1I/ʻOumuamua and comet 2I/Borisov. According to Ixbt.com reports .

Although 3I/ATLAS exhibited typical cometary characteristics by emitting gas and dust as it approached the Sun, the SETI team conducted a standard scan for technological markers. The study involved experts from the Breakthrough Listen project, the Berkeley SETI Research Center, and the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics. Observations lasted over seven hours in the frequency range of 1 to 9 GHz.

During the analysis, the system recorded nearly 74 million narrowband signals, but most turned out to be radio interference. After filtering, 211 candidate signals were visually inspected, and none were confirmed to be artificial. The researchers were capable of detecting any transmitter with a power exceeding 10¹⁰ watts near 3I/ATLAS.

According to Sofia Sheikh, one of the project's authors, such observations create an important methodological basis for distinguishing rare anomalies from natural processes in the future. The scientists also noted that, in time, probes like Voyager could become interstellar objects and technological markers for other systems. This experiment once again demonstrated the ability of modern radio instruments to respond quickly to interstellar objects.