Harvard astrophysicist Professor Avi Loeb has reignited the alien life debate with his theory that interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may be more than just a space rock. While most scientists classify it as a comet, Loeb suggests the object’s unusual trajectory—passing near Venus, Mars, and Jupiter—could point to intelligent design. He urges an open-minded approach, comparing the object’s classification to a scale of risk similar to the Richter scale for earthquakes. The comet will pass closest to the Sun on October 29 and poses no threat to Earth, according to NASA. But could this be our first real “blind date” with alien technology?