- 7 hours ago
Is 3I/ATLAS quietly killing Earth? Scientists are worried as strange patterns and unexplained changes begin to raise serious questions. What was once dismissed as distant and harmless may be influencing our planet in ways we are only starting to understand.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00While you're watching this video, pieces of continents are slowly breaking off from below
00:04and are pulled down into the oceanic mantle, a hot, mostly solid layer that moves slowly
00:11under the seafloor. As soon as these fragments reach the mantle, they can trigger volcanic
00:16eruptions in parts of the ocean where there are no volcanoes. Plus, when continents break apart,
00:22it happens not only at the surface, but also deep down. But more on that later.
00:28This process can continue for tens of millions of years. The new study shows that Earth's
00:33insides are even more dynamic than we thought. It also explains why many volcanic islands,
00:39including Christmas Island in the Northeast Indian Ocean, contain unusually high levels of
00:45certain chemical elements. The thing is, these elements are normally only found in continental
00:51crust. Well, scientists did suspect that these elements showed up because some powerful
00:57forces deep inside the Earth took old, recycled pieces of rock and mixed them into the mantle.
01:03This process works a bit like when you mix together ingredients for cake batter.
01:08But before, researchers believed those elements came from two main sources – sediment that sank into
01:15the mantle as oceanic plates got pushed down, or from mantle plumes. Those are columns of hot rock
01:22rising up from deep inside Earth. However, these explanations don't fit all observations.
01:30In some volcanic areas, there's almost no sign that the crust has been recycled. In other places,
01:36the mantle seems to cool and too close to the surface to be affected by the rising hot rock.
01:41Scientists used to wonder how this could happen. Now we know that some of the material in those regions
01:47come from pieces of continents that sink deep into the mantle. And these pieces affect the volcanoes that
01:54form above. The new study also suggests a curious idea. Continents don't just break apart at the surface,
02:02they peel away from below too. And this can happen over much greater distances than scientists thought before.
02:10Researchers used simulations to figure out how continents and the mantle behaved when stretched
02:16by tectonic forces. Their work is built on earlier research showing that when continents split,
02:23deep, powerful forces inside our planet create a mantle wave. This wave moves along the base of the
02:31continent at depths of about 90 to 125 miles. The wave moves extremely slowly, about a millionth of the
02:41speed of a snail, and gradually strips material from the roots of the continents. These peeled off fragments
02:48are then carried sideways, sometimes more than 620 miles, into the oceanic mantle. Once there, they can
02:56trigger volcanic eruptions in the ocean for tens of millions of years. The research also shows that
03:05the mantle continues to feel effects of continental breakup long after the continents themselves have
03:11separated. Even after a new ocean basin forms, the mantle keeps moving, reorganizing and transporting
03:19enriched material far from where it originally came. To make this conclusion, researchers studied
03:25geochemical data from different parts of the Earth, including the Indian Ocean Seamount province.
03:31That's a chain of volcanic formations that appeared after the supercontinent Gondwana had broken apart
03:38over 100 million years ago. Their computer models and chemical tests showed that right after the
03:45supercontinent Gondwana broke apart, a lot of magma with unusual chemicals pushed up to the surface.
03:52Over millions of years, this chemical signature slowly faded as less material came up from under the
03:59continent. The most unexpected discovery is that this happened without any help from those deep,
04:06hot columns of rock scientists used to think were needed. Now, to get an even clearer picture,
04:13let's sneak a peek into our planet's insides. Earth is about 4.6 billion years old. It was born from
04:22a huge
04:22cloud of dust and gas that slowly cooled, shrank and hardened into the planet we know today. As it cooled,
04:31heavy metals like iron and nickel sank to the center, and lighter, rocky materials floated upward.
04:37This created the Earth's layered structure, with each layer having its own unique properties.
04:44The crust is like Earth's skin. It's our planet's outermost layer made of solid rock. It's broken into
04:52huge pieces called tectonic plates that slowly drift over time. There are two kinds of crust, oceanic crust
05:00and continental crust. The oceanic crust is about 4 to 6 miles thick. It's covered with a thin layer of
05:08sediments like sand, clay and shells. Below that are dense rocks like basalt, rich in magnesium. As for
05:17the continental crust, it's thicker than oceanic crust and is located under continents. It's made of lighter
05:24rocks than oceanic crust. Beneath the crust is the mantle. It makes up more than 75% of Earth's volume.
05:33The top of the mantle is pretty rigid, but deeper down, it becomes soft and partially molten, which
05:39allows it to flow slowly. This flow is what moves the tectonic plates. At the center of the Earth lies
05:48the
05:48core. It's made mostly of iron and nickel and has two distinct layers, the outer core and the inner
05:55core. The outer core is a liquid layer of iron and nickel. It's insanely hot, up to 10,800 degrees
06:03Fahrenheit, as hot as the surface of the Sun. The outer core also generates Earth's magnetic field,
06:09which protects us from harmful solar radiation. The inner core is solid because of the crushing
06:16pressure inside the planet. It's also made of iron and nickel. Now, the Earth's outer shell, called
06:23the lithosphere, is made up of the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. It's broken into large pieces,
06:31called tectonic plates. There are a few super large plates and many smaller ones. Six of the major plates
06:37are named after the continents they carry, like the North American, African and Antarctic plates. But even those
06:44smaller plates play an important role. For example, the tiny Juan de Fuca plate is responsible for many of
06:51the volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The plates are moving like a jumble of old
06:58conveyor belts. They move very slowly, about one to two inches per year. But over millions of years, this
07:06movement shapes the face of our planet. Most earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building happen where plates
07:12meet, pull apart, or slide past each other. There are three main types of plate boundaries. Convergent,
07:20when plates move toward each other. Divergent, when plates move apart. And transform, that's when plates
07:27slide sideways past each other. When tectonic plates collide, the crust crumples and buckles, forming mountain
07:34ranges. About 55 million years ago, India crashed into Asia, slowly creating the Himalayas.
07:42The tallest mountains on Earth. The collision continues today, so the mountains are still
07:47rising. Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, may even grow a tiny bit taller over time.
07:54At some convergent boundaries, an oceanic plate dives under a land plate in a process called
08:00subduction. The land above lifts up, forming mountains, and the sinking plate melts and triggers
08:07volcanic eruptions. This is how some mountains in the Andes of South America were formed.
08:13When two oceanic plates collide, one usually slides beneath the other, creating deep ocean trenches,
08:20like the Mariana Trench in the North Pacific, the deepest point on Earth.
08:25These collisions can also form underwater volcanoes that eventually rise above the ocean and turn into
08:32island chains, such as Japan. At divergent boundaries, tectonic plates move away from each other.
08:40In the oceans, magma from deep in the mantle rises to fill the gap. This creates underwater mountains and
08:47volcanoes along the seam. This process renews the ocean floor and slowly widens the ocean basins.
08:54By the way, a single mid-ocean ridge system connects all the world's oceans, making it the longest mountain
09:01range on Earth. On land, when plates pull apart, they form giant valleys, such as the Great Rift Valley
09:09in Africa. If this stretching continues over millions of years, East Africa could split off to become a new
09:17landmass. One famous example of transform boundaries is the San Andreas Fault in California. Unlike convergent
09:25or divergent boundaries, transform boundaries usually don't create mountains or oceans. But the grinding
09:32motion can cause powerful earthquakes, such as the 1906 earthquake that destroyed much of San Francisco.
09:40A large space probe is nearing the sun. The terrifying heat of the star begins to melt the shell of
09:47the
09:47spacecraft. Another moment, and the probe bursts into flames. In no time, it disintegrates in a
09:54powerful explosion. Ah, what a sad ending. If it were true, it was not a probe, it was a comet
10:01known as
10:013I Atlas. And despite everything people say, it's still intact and thriving. The thing is, there is a rumor
10:10online saying that comet 3I Atlas exploded when it got closest to the sun. But astronomers say this
10:17is not true. There was no explosion. And the comet's nucleus still looks whole and undamaged. Which is
10:24kind of surprising, since comets that pass very close to the sun usually go through some serious
10:30changes. You see, comets are made of a mix of ice, dust, and rocky material, which is why they're often
10:37called dirty snowballs. So when they come close to the sun, the intense heat from our star makes their
10:44ice turn into gas. This new gas can burst out in huge jets, form a cloud around the comet called
10:50a coma, and or be pushed away into a long tail. Sunlight makes all of these parts shine more
10:57brightly. And even people with small or simple telescopes can study the comet if the viewing
11:02conditions are good. But aside from being a breathtaking view, such a close approach can
11:08break off pieces of a comet or even tear its whole nucleus apart. Now, it's true that some comets
11:15survive this process. But many, especially small ones, or comets entering the inner solar system for
11:21the first time, break into pieces or disappear completely. Well, 3I Atlas acted differently.
11:29So there. It reached its closest point to the sun on October 29, 2025. This point is called the
11:36Perhelion. At that moment, the comet was about 130 million miles from the sun. That's about one and a
11:42half times the distance between the sun and our planet. The comet was also on the opposite side of
11:48the sun from Earth. So the star was blocking it from our view, and we couldn't see the comet.
11:53Anyway, even though 3I Atlas could hypothetically break apart or release lots of fragments, it didn't.
12:01The nucleus stayed intact. And this made the comet's behavior even more unusual and interesting to
12:07scientists. They looked closely at the new photos and said everything looked normal.
12:13Now, interestingly, the day before, some people thought the comet had broken into pieces after it
12:19came out from behind the far side of the sun. This idea became popular after a blog post said
12:25the comet had lost a lot of mass. So to make this claim, the blog used photos taken on November
12:319 by
12:32two small telescopes in Spain. The pictures show jets of gas coming out of the comet. The scientists
12:39used this to estimate how much material was coming off the comet, claiming that it should have broken
12:44into at least 16 pieces. However, many scientists have questioned this statement. Most researchers say
12:51there's no proof that the comet exploded. One scientist who studies the comet says that all
12:57the images he had seen showed a completely normal, healthy comet. There's no sign that the main body
13:03of the comet has broken apart. Still, now that the comet is coming back into view, astronomers are
13:09watching it very carefully. They want to learn more about the comet's materials and structure. Right now,
13:15if you look at it from Earth, the comet seems to be slowly moving higher in the eastern sky.
13:22If the weather is good, people in many parts of the northern hemisphere can see it with a small
13:27telescope, like this one with a 6-inch lens. And many do pay attention to the comet. Since it was
13:33discovered in July, it has become the center of many curious ideas. Some people are sure that the comet,
13:40which comes from outside our solar system and might be more than 7 billion years old, could be a probe
13:47sent by a different civilization. Most astronomers strongly disagree, of course. They believe the
13:53comet is completely natural and comes from another star system somewhere in the Milky Way. And this is
14:00actually exciting. Comet 3i Atlas is only the third interstellar comet ever seen, and it is the largest one
14:07of its kind. Before, it was comet 2i Borisov that passed through in 2019, and Oumuamua, a weird
14:15elongated object that appeared in 2017. But 3i Atlas, with its up to 3.5-mile nucleus, dwarfs Oumuamua,
14:24which was just a quarter-mile long, and Borisov, which is about three-tenths of a mile across. Plus,
14:313i Atlas may be the oldest comet humans have ever observed. Oumuamua is much younger,
14:38around 1 billion years old. It came from the galaxy's thin disk, where new stars are still
14:44being born. It was the first known object from another star system to pass through our solar
14:49system – basically, our first interstellar guest. It was super-stretched out, about 10 times longer
14:56than it was wide, unlike anything else we've spotted in space. As for 2i Borisov, it sits in
15:03between, at roughly 1.7 billion years old. It also came from the thin disk. It was the first confirmed
15:10comet to come from another star system. And it gave scientists a super-rare peek at what materials
15:16beyond our solar system were made of. Unlike the first interstellar visitor, Oumuamua, which looked
15:22more like an asteroid, Borisov behaved like a classic comet. It had a bright coma, a temporary
15:28fuzzy atmosphere of gas and dust forming around the comet's nucleus as it approaches the Sun. Plus,
15:35it also had a long tail of dust and gas. Now, 2i Borisov is speeding away from the Sun and
15:42will never
15:42return. But it allowed scientists to take a glimpse into the chemistry and history of distant worlds.
15:49Now, let's get back to comet 3i Atlas. It will pass closest to Earth on December 19th. Until then,
15:57scientists will make many more observations. People will also make many new claims about the comet,
16:02that's for sure. But it's best to be cautious and not believe everything immediately. By the way,
16:08even though you can't see this famous comet with your own eyes or with a regular telescope, hey,
16:14that's good news. A powerful telescope in Italy is streaming it live for free. Whoa. So anyone can
16:21actually watch this mysterious object as it passes by. Scientists think this comet weighs about 33
16:27billion tons. That's a big number. How about we make a few comparisons? The Eiffel Tower weighs around
16:3410,000 tons. So 33 billion tons is the same as 3.3 million Eiffel Towers. And if you decide
16:43to compare
16:44the space visitor to buildings, well, 33 billion tons is about the same as the weight of several
16:49huge city areas made entirely of steel and concrete. Now, 3i Atlas was first noticed in July
16:56by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System, which, if you're paying attention, is where
17:04they got the nickname Atlas. Shortly after, NASA confirmed that the object wasn't from our solar
17:10system at all. Now, besides being huge, 3i Atlas is unusual in several other ways. As it moves through
17:17the solar system, it's releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide and dust. So this suggests that 3i
17:23Atlas is 3 to 5 orders of magnitude, which means 1,000 to 100,000 times more massive than the
17:31two
17:31other known interstellar visitors. Such an enormous difference is a real scientific mystery.
17:37It's also traveling incredibly fast, about 150,000 miles per hour, which is almost 200 times the speed
17:45of sound. That will get you a speeding ticket! And unlike objects in our solar system, which follow
17:51curved paths because of gravity, 3i Atlas is moving on a nearly straight line. That alone makes it stand
17:58out. Now that the comet has moved past the Sun, telescopes on Earth can see it again. Comet 3i Atlas
18:06is important to us because it's only the third interstellar visitor we've ever seen, and it may
18:12be the biggest and oldest one yet. And it didn't break apart near the Sun like some other comets.
18:17By studying it, scientists can learn what materials exist in other star systems,
18:22and better understand how comets, and even planets, form in our galaxy.
18:31Comet 3i Atlas crashes into Earth, and a wave of widespread destruction starts shaking our planet.
18:39Ginormous tsunamis are swallowing coastlines. Devastating earthquakes are cracking the ground.
18:45Hot debris is igniting massive firestorms. Thick clouds of dust are blocking the Sun.
18:53Now, that's what could happen if 3i Atlas, a massive comet traveling through the solar system,
19:00collided with our planet. But can this disaster actually occur? When will 3i Atlas be the closest to Earth?
19:09Let's figure this out. First of all, this comet turned out to be way larger than we previously
19:16thought. Its weight is likely a whopping 33 billion tons. Let's throw in a few comparisons to put it into
19:23perspective. The Eiffel Tower weighs about 10,000 tons. So, 33 billion tons is roughly the weight of 3.3
19:31million Eiffel Towers. Impressive! Next, all the cars on Earth, and we're talking about 1.5 billion
19:40vehicles, each weighing about 1.5 tons, weigh approximately 2.25 billion tons. This means that
19:50the comet's mass is 15 times greater than the combined weight of literally all the cars on the planet.
19:56And finally, compared to buildings on Earth, 33 billion tons is equal to several large metropolitan
20:03areas made entirely of steel and concrete. But the whole idea of how big this comet is fades in
20:12comparison with an even crazier fact about it. It could be unknown technology from a different galaxy.
20:19And some experts are somewhat sure about that. But why?
20:253i Atlas was first spotted in July by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System.
20:31A bit later, the US Space Agency confirmed that the object was an interstellar object, only the third we
20:38have found so far. Before, it was Comet 2i Borisov that passed through in 2019, and Oumuamua, a weird
20:47elongated object that appeared in 2017. But the newest comet with its up to 3.5-mile nucleus, Dwarfs Oumuamua,
20:57which is just a quarter-mile long, and Borisov, which is about 0.6 miles across. By the way,
21:04some believe that the comet could be even bigger, up to almost 7 miles. But scientists haven't found
21:11any proof of that yet. Besides its size, 3i Atlas is different in other ways too, which makes some
21:20scientists question its origins. The object is shedding huge amounts of carbon dioxide and dust
21:26while zooming towards the Sun. It's most likely the proof that 3i Atlas is more massive than the other
21:32two interstellar objects by 3 to 5 orders of magnitude, which is basically a serious anomaly.
21:41The comet is also traveling toward the Sun incredibly fast. We're talking about around 130,000 miles per
21:48hour, which is almost 170 times the speed of sound. Another weird thing is that this interstellar object
21:56is following a straight trajectory, unlike anything else in the solar system. Most space bodies move
22:03along curved orbits due to the force of gravity. That made some researchers believe that 3i Atlas
22:10might be a probe sent by another civilization to explore Earth, possibly with not-so-friendly intentions.
22:18Their theory is that the object could be a technological artifact, a sign of cosmic intelligence.
22:25You see, the comet moves in a pretty weird way that doesn't totally line up with just gravity.
22:31Its trajectory also takes it close to Venus, Mars and Jupiter. And researchers think that these planets
22:38might be especially interesting for another civilization to pass by.
22:44Another bizarre fact, the space traveler also spins backward compared to most stuff in our solar system.
22:51This might be necessary to make it easier for 3i Atlas to get near Earth without much resistance.
22:58Some scientists think the comet's odd spin and flight path could help whoever or whatever made it
23:04take super precise measurements of the planets, things like their orbits and sizes,
23:09to plan a perfect route through the solar system. If 3i Atlas suddenly changes direction in a big way,
23:17that might mean it's using some kind of built-in engine instead of just drifting through space.
23:23There's also another theory that suggests it could be a piece of unknown tech that's still active.
23:31There's no need to worry though, at least at the moment. The comet isn't coming anywhere near us.
23:36NASA says it'll stay around 150 million miles from Earth when heading toward the Sun.
23:42So the question is, where do such space visitors come from?
23:48Astronomers have found that the three interstellar objects we discovered came from totally different
23:54parts of the galaxy. And each of them has its own age and background. 3i Atlas turned out to be
24:01the
24:01oldest, about 4.6 billion years old, and it came from the Milky Way's thick disk. That's a region filled
24:09with older stars that have fewer heavy elements. 1i Oumuamua is much younger, around 1 billion years old.
24:17It came from the galaxy's thin disk, where new stars are still being born.
24:221i Oumuamua, Hawaiian for a messenger from afar arriving first, was the first known object from
24:30another star system to pass through our solar system. Basically, the first interstellar guest.
24:37It was super stretched out, about 10 times longer than it was wide, unlike anything else we've spotted
24:44in space. It also sped up in a way that couldn't be explained by gravity alone.
24:50Changes in brightness showed it was tumbling end over end, instead of spinning smoothly.
24:56At first, scientists were confused, because the space body didn't have a tail or cloud of gas like
25:02a normal comet, even though it was accelerating. That led to a lot of debate about what it was made
25:09of
25:09and where it came from. Just like with 3i Atlas, some people wondered if it could be technology created
25:16by a space civilization. But most scientists now think Oumuamua was a totally natural object,
25:23just a really weird one. The best guess is that it was a comet releasing invisible hydrogen gas,
25:30which caused it to speed up slightly. Sadly, by the time astronomers found it, it was already heading
25:36out of the solar system, so there wasn't much time to study it. As for 2i Borisov, it sits in
25:42between at
25:43roughly 1.7 billion years old. It also came from the thin disk. It was the first confirmed comet to
25:51come from another star system, and it gave scientists a super rare peek at what materials
25:56beyond our solar system were made of. The comet was discovered in 2019 by Gennady Borisov, an amateur
26:05astronomer who actually built his own telescope to search for faint space objects. Unlike the first
26:13interstellar visitor, Oumuamua, which looked more like an asteroid, Borisov behaved like a classic comet.
26:19It had a bright coma. That's a temporary fuzzy atmosphere of gas and dust forming around the comet's
26:25nucleus as it approaches the Sun. Plus, it boasted a long tail of dust and gas.
26:33Studying 2i Borisov helped researchers learn more about how other planetary systems form.
26:39Observations showed that its dust grains were compact and that the amount of gases,
26:43like carbon dioxide, changed a lot as it approached the Sun. It could mean that the comet formed under
26:50very different conditions than anything else in our solar system. Now, 2i Borisov is speeding away
26:58from the Sun and will never return. But it allowed scientists to take a unique glimpse into the chemistry
27:04and history of distant worlds. Interestingly, the differences between these three space objects suggest
27:12that interstellar visitors have been getting kicked out of planetary systems all across the galaxy for
27:17billions of years. So it's not something new. To figure out if 3i Atlas might be some kind of probe
27:24from another planet, scientists are checking for any signs of technology, like strange radio signals,
27:31electric activity, and weird movement patterns. If the comet suddenly changes course or drops smaller
27:38objects nearby, it might be our cue. But even though 3i Atlas is moving in a pretty wild and energetic
27:46way,
27:47it's most likely just a natural interstellar object passing through. Researchers say they'll need a lot
27:53more proof before anyone can seriously say the space wanderer was sent by someone from another planet.
28:00What do you think about this newly discovered space traveler? Share your opinion in the comments!
Comments