Scientist: Interstellar comet has hydrogen cyanide. Could he have brought it to Earth?

“Will any of the material separated from 3I/ATLAS reach Earth?” asked this astrophysicist, sparking a discussion about potential dangers from space.

‘Serial killer spreading poison’

In his analysis, Loeb addressed the widespread concern that the gas cloud around comet 3I/ATLAS, which glowed green during its approach to the Sun, contained cyanide and hydrogen cyanide. These are very dangerous compounds that have been used for the darkest purposes throughout history.

​ – Hydrogen cyanide in high concentrations is poison – Loeb previously told the New York Post, recalling how this gas was used as a chemical weapon during the First World War.

The scientist highlighted the observations of the ALMA radio telescope in Ile, which detected significant amounts of methanol and hydrogen cyanide in this cosmic body during the fall. This led him to think that this interstellar comet could represent a “serial killer spreading poison”, describing it as a kind of intergalactic cyanide pill.

Fortunately, Loeb immediately offered reasons why we don’t need to prepare for disaster. He speculated that the strong solar wind would prevent any potentially toxic cargo from reaching Earth’s atmosphere.

“Given the mass-loss rate measured by the Webb Space Telescope, the gas around 3I/ATLAS would be swept up by the solar wind only a few million kilometers from the comet itself,” he wrote.

By comparison, comet ATLAS was about 273 million kilometers from Earth during its closest pass on December 19. Loeb theorized that tiny dust particles, less than one micrometer in size, would be carried away by the pressure of the sun’s radiation, while larger objects, provided they were smaller than one meter, would simply burn up upon entering our atmosphere.

Negligible chance of impact

As for debris larger than one meter, the chance of them hitting the planet is negligible due to the speed at which the comet is outgassing and its great distance from Earth.

“Given the rate of 3I/ATLAS mass loss, less than a million such large objects have been released in the past few months,” Loeb wrote, noting that because of their distant origins, “the closest among them will never approach within less than ten Earth radii.”

However, he added that the outcome could be different if the mentioned missiles could “maneuver with the help of a technological drive”.

This statement is consistent with his earlier theories.

Loeb, who is tight-lipped about the comet’s possible artificial origin, previously theorized that 3I/ATLAS’ bizarre trajectory suggested it was dropping “satellites” toward Jupiter to gather intelligence for an “alien civilization.” According to his words, comet 3I/ATLAS could use its time near the gas giant, which it will reach on March 16, 2026, to “seed” it with additional probes. Although most of the scientific community disagrees with his speculations, Loeb’s ideas regularly stimulate the imagination and open new questions about the secrets of the universe.