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from the I'm-not-saying-it-was-aliens dept.
Two Harvard astronomers have suggested that the interstellar object that passed through our solar system in late 2017 and early 2018 could have been part of an alien spacecraft.
Shmuel Bialy and Abraham Loeb, two astronomers from the Harvard Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, suggested the cigar-shaped object — given the Hawaiian name 'Oumuamua, which NASA notes "means a messenger from afar arriving first" — could have been a discarded light sail of extra-terrestrial origin, perhaps sent here on purpose.
From the paper:
We explain the excess acceleration of `Oumuamua away from the sun as the result of the force that the sunlight exerts on its surface. For this force to explain measured excess acceleration, the object needs to be extremely thin, of order a fraction of a millimeter in thickness but tens of meters in size. This makes the object lightweight for its surface area and allows it to act as a light-sail. Its origin could be either natural (in the interstellar medium or proto-planetary disks) or artificial (as a probe sent for a reconnaissance mission into the inner region of the solar system)."
It's not hard to find plenty of the usual skepticism, much of which seems to center on whether or not the object outgassed on the way into our solar system, and it's shape. The gist of the Harvard paper seems to be that the object would need to be extremely thin and not at all like the rocky artists rendering that has commonly been used in stories to date.
What do Soylentils think of this latest twist?
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Wednesday November 07 2018, @11:31AM (9 children)
Nah [arstechnica.com]
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(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 07 2018, @12:35PM (8 children)
So, fully functional, but paper thin? And if it was sent to Earth's vicinity on purpose, but just did a drive-by like a high school kid cruising past a girl's house, why did they waste their time and effort?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by takyon on Wednesday November 07 2018, @01:06PM (4 children)
The real story is that millions of these things are zipping in and out of the solar system annually. Our ability to detect nearby asteroids has advanced tremendously in recent years. So we managed to spot this object and notice its unusual trajectory.
In a decade or three we'll be detecting a lot more interstellar asteroids. But until then, offhand speculation about them being alien spacecrafts will inspire epic clickbait.
https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=18/01/06/0747243 [soylentnews.org]
https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.08800 [arxiv.org]
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 07 2018, @04:56PM
What can we do about this? I know ... Space Force!
(Score: 2) by legont on Wednesday November 07 2018, @06:39PM
It has a very unusual shape. Probability is low - extremely low - that's why all the hype.
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Wednesday November 07 2018, @09:28PM
Which is just the way I likes it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 07 2018, @11:25PM
Wouldn't be so sure if it's not a possibly discarded alien sail or even an operational one, see Oberth Manuver or Effect, and it's rather unlikely we will see zillions of interstellar objects zipping by.
https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2018/10/29/on-oumuamua-thin-films-and-lightsails/#comments [centauri-dreams.org]
(Score: 3, Touché) by hendrikboom on Wednesday November 07 2018, @01:09PM (1 child)
Why did our probe just fly by Pluto instead of staying around?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday November 07 2018, @01:14PM
It all makes sense! The aliens have no budget for planetary science! They would have slowed down only if they had a military spacecraft!
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(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday November 08 2018, @12:17AM
I prefer to say "It is wafer thin!", then run to get my alien vomit catching bucket.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---