Cigar-shaped interstellar object may have been an alien probe, Harvard paper claims

This object seemed to have stumped astronomers for some time now. Looking through the article, it looks like they have exausted many explenations, and while not settling on it being a UFO, they leave it as a possibility.

A mysterious cigar-shaped object spotted tumbling through our solar system last year may have been an alien spacecraft sent to investigate Earth, astronomers from Harvard University have suggested.

The object, nicknamed 'Oumuamua, meaning "a messenger that reaches out from the distant past" in Hawaiian, was first discovered in October 2017 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii.

The theory is based on the object's "excess acceleration," or its unexpected boost in speed as it traveled through and ultimately out of our solar system in January 2018.

"Considering an artificial origin, one possibility is that 'Oumuamua is a light sail, floating in interstellar space as a debris from an advanced technological equipment," wrote the paper's authors, suggesting that the object could be propelled by solar radiation.

At first, astronomers thought the rapidly moving faint light was a regular comet or an asteroid that had originated in our solar system. Comets, in particular, are known to speed-up due to a process known as "outgassing," in which the sun heats up the surface of the icy comet, releasing melted gas. But 'Oumuamua didn't have a "coma," the atmosphere and dust that surrounds comets as they melt.

CNN

Interesting to see this all published as a possibility.

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I imagine since it does not involve "alienz are already here" type material, and a Harvard professor was involved, the story was not too embarrassing to write.

Perhaps the recent psychological operations about UFOs have actually begun to loosen up our culture about such possibilities.

and now the truth about the "black night" sattelite in the 60's !

The article I found was dated for today, I looked thru new and found nothing.

Did a search and there is a great thread for anyone who missed it already touching on these papers, ironically on Halloween.

thread

a reply to: CriticalStinker

I can't remember if I read this in a source article or in the previous thread, but there was this fascinating discussion about the possibility of alien archaeology in the future.

I just love the idea of that. Can't wait for Humanity to truly get off this rock and really explore the neighborhood.

I believe that if someone said exact same thing just a decade ago he would risk his career.

Just read about it on a local newspaper.

Very exciting that they're that open for this possibility.

I believe the society is slowly preparing the sheeple to receive the big breaking news.

On the past 5 years we've seen a load of new information coming into light that support the theory that we're not alone.

Guess we'll have to wait and see.

Every time I read about that object this comes to mind : en.wikipedia.org...

I wish we had the option to check it out before it left the solar system, oh well next time I guess...

a reply to: Thill

A while since I read that book but I still remember being extremely disappointed by the ending: what the hell does doing everything in threes mean?

I could have sworn the probe theory was put forth quite some time ago? Deja vu, or Mandela Effect

If it's a probe, it's absolutely epic. To us anyway, that would be a massive thing for humans to contruct. Maybe to some other culture, this is a small puppy. If it's a rock, it's one hell of a formation. Natural, but gigantic, rock spire ejected from a surface somewhere far-flung, perhaps? Hodge podge of smaller rocks mashed together through space & time into a cosmic finger? A giant space poo from an unknown immense creature? Who knows. We should get our own probe out there some day to see it up close & personal

originally posted by: Nyiah
I could have sworn the probe theory was put forth quite some time ago? Deja vu, or Mandela Effect

If it's a probe, it's absolutely epic. To us anyway, that would be a massive thing for humans to contruct. Maybe to some other culture, this is a small puppy. If it's a rock, it's one hell of a formation. Natural, but gigantic, rock spire ejected from a surface somewhere far-flung, perhaps? Hodge podge of smaller rocks mashed together through space & time into a cosmic finger? A giant space poo from an unknown immense creature? Who knows. We should get our own probe out there some day to see it up close & personal

I'm not sure we will be seeing it again any time soon and if we do, does that mean it has come back to investigate [probe] the inhabitants of the blue and green planet it passed on it's journey?

a reply to: CriticalStinker
Thank you for checking up and finding the prior thread. Thank you also for alerting staff. Kudos.

Members, please go to Scientists Theorize Interstellar Object Oumuamua Could be Extraterrestrial Solar Sail and continue your discussions there.

This thread is now closed.