[ad_1]
CBS NEWS – Two Harvard scientists claim that a mbadive and rapidly changing visitor to our solar system could have been a probe sent by an extraterrestrial civilization. Most astronomers think that Oumuamua – in Hawaiian for "messenger" or "scout" – is a comet or asteroid, less than one kilometer long. But there are things about his behavior that they can not explain everything. According to Tony Dokoupil, a CBS News correspondent, two Harvard scientists had the idea of admitting they are a little out of town.
When Oumuamua was discovered last October, it was flying above the sun at 196,000 mph. For some, the reddish object looked like a cigar. Others thought that it was shaped like a pancake.
"This seems very different from the objects we found in the solar system," said Avi Loeb, chair of the astronomy department at Harvard University. Loeb added that Oumuamua did not behave like an ordinary asteroid or release gas like a comet.
"There seems to be an extra force pushing her, and we do not know where it comes from," he added. In an upcoming article, he and his colleague propose what they call a "more exotic scenario … Oumuamua could be a fully operational probe, intentionally sent near the earth by an extraterrestrial civilization."
According to their calculations, Oumuamua would be less a millimeter thick, but very wide like a sail, exploiting solar radiation to propel itself – similar to the spaceship used by Earl Dooku in the "Star Wars" movies.
"I just want everyone to take it with a gigantic grain of salt," said Jackie Faherty, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. She said that Oumuamua had not issued any signals suggesting that it was a spaceship.
"If you say that the list of the 10 most used explanations does not include the extraterrestrial probe, what is there in this list?" Asked Dokoupil.
"C & # 39 is a comet. Or an asteroid. Or a rock, "said Faherty.
" So where is the extraterrestrial civilization on the list of explanations? "
" I do not know. Very low. Very low. Really, really low, "said Faherty.
Faherty doubts the appearance of Oumuamua, which means that we are on the brink of an encounter as strange as that of the movie." Arrival. "[19659004] "Oumuamua, as such, is a phenomenal discovery and a very important object for astronomers to study and for the public to be excited about," said Faherty. "It's good that it is not
Oumuamua is now so far away that we can no longer see it with our satellites Faherty had a theory as to why we continue to offer these exotic explanations: as difficult as it is to understand the existence of aliens, it is apparently even more difficult to understand the idea that we are alone.
Source link
