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A scientific article led by two researchers at Harvard University caused a sensation this week by claiming that an alien resembling a cigar-shaped rock was allegedly sent by extraterrestrials.
the article said that it was an "exotic scenario", but that "Oumuamua could be a fully operational probe, intentionally sent near the Earth by a civilization extraterrestrial."
Oumuamua, the first interstellar object known to penetrate our solar system, accelerated more rapidly away from the Sun than expected, hence the idea that a kind of artificial sail operating in sunlight – called light veil – could have helped to move it in space.
"There is currently an unexplained phenomenon, namely the acceleration of Oumuamua, which we show can be explained by the strength of the sun's radiation pressure," said the author. AFP Shmuel Bialy, Harvard co-author and astrophysicist, by e-mail Tuesday.
The surface and be very thin, which is not encountered in nature. "
Their suggestion of an extraterrestrial force at work became viral.
But other astronomical experts do not buy it.
" Like most scientists, J & Would like that there is compelling evidence of extraterrestrial life, but that's not it, "said Alan Fitzsimmons, astrophysicist at Queens University, Belfast.
" He already has It has been shown that its observed characteristics are compatible with a comet. body similar to another star system ", he told AFP
" Some of the arguments in this study are based on figures with great uncertainties. "
" Impossible to guess "
Katie Mack, a renowned North Carolina astrophysicist, also challenges the extraterrestrial hype.
" What you need to understand is that: Scientists are perfectly happy to publish an unusual idea if she has any chance of not making a mistake, "she writes on Twitter.
" But until all the others Although this possibility has been exhausted a dozen times, even the authors probably do not believe it. "
When asked if he believed in the hypothesis that he had advanced, Bialy told AFP:
" I would not say that I believe "It is sent by extraterrestrials, because I am a scientist and not a believer, I rely on evidence to propose a possible physical explanation of the phenomena observed."
The other co-author , Avi Loeb, chairman of the Harvard Astronomy Department, "It's impossible to guess the purpose of Oumuamua without more data," Loeb was quoted by the press as saying.
Their article has been accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal Letters and will be published on November 12.
Oumuamua, Hawaiian for "messenger" or "scout", was first seen by telescopes in October 2017.
The alien rock is about 400 meters long and only 130 feet wide.
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