Mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS recently made its closest pass of the Sun, or perihelion, brightening up in observations as solar radiation caused it to shed gases at an immense rate. “At its perihelion distance, the Sun provided 700 Joules per square meter per second,” Loeb wrote. “Was the dramatic mass loss and brightening of 3I/ATLAS at perihelion evidence that it disintegrated?” the astronomer questioned. “Technological thrusters require a much smaller mass loss in order to produce the observed jets around 3I/ATLAS,” he wrote in his latest blog. More on 3I/ATLAS: NASA Withholding New Images of Mysterious Object From Beyond Solar System