A mysterious interstellar object speeding through the solar system — brighter than a comet, traveling on Earth's orbital plane, and accelerating — has triggered fresh debate over whether it's a natural phenomenon or something far more unusual.
But Dr. Steven Greer, founder of the Disclosure Project, told Newsmax on Monday the truth is likely far less sensational. The Disclosure Project is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to government disclosure of alleged alien sightings.
"It's less likely to be a manufactured alien object than a stray asteroid," Greer told "Finnerty." "We need better eyes on it before we start the hype."
First spotted in Chile, the "Atlas comet" is now officially the fastest interstellar object ever recorded. Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb has speculated its unusual traits make it worth investigating as a possible alien probe.
Greer said the data doesn't convince him.
"A comet is a very different thing than a large asteroid-type rock," he said. "We need more intelligence on it before making those claims."
Greer pointed to aerospace pioneer Wernher von Braun, who in 1974 warned of psychological operations that could create panic over asteroids as a prelude to a staged alien event.
"I tend to be skeptical about the kind of fear and hype around this sort of thing," Greer said. "Before hoaxing an alien event, they'd create asteroid threats to stir global panic."
Although Greer doubts it's an alien craft, he hasn't ruled out that it might be "extraterrestrial detritus" — space debris from a long-lost civilization.
"It's possible it's been out there for millions of years," he said. "There's obviously been life in the universe long before humans."
Greer also noted the U.S. has retrieved and reverse-engineered more than 1,000 extraterrestrial vehicles in the past 80 years — a fact he claimed is documented in intelligence archives.
The object will make a slingshot pass around the Sun on Oct. 29, after which scientists expect to get better imaging.
"If they do the correct imaging, they should be able to get more data on it," Greer said, adding that the next 90 days could tell us whether this is simply a high-speed wanderer or something truly extraordinary.
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