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In October 2017, astronomers noticed an object moving so fast it could only have come from another star, the first recorded case of an interstellar intruder.
It did not appear to be an ordinary boulder, for after setting off around the sun, it accelerated and deviated from the expected path, pushed by a mysterious force.
This could easily be explained if a comet expelled gas and debris, but there was no visible evidence of this “gassing” process.
The traveler also landed in a strange way, the way that made him brighter and weaker in scientists’ telescopes, and was unusually bright, indicating that he was made of shiny metal.
In order to explain what happened, astronomers had to come up with new theories, such as that it is made of hydrogen ice and therefore has no visible traces, or that it dissolves in a cloud of dust.
So begins a new book by a prominent astronomer who argues that the simplest and best explanation for the unusual properties of an interstellar object that passed through our solar system in 2017 was that it was technology designed by an alien.
Does this sound strange? Scientist Avi Loeb says, “The evidence proves otherwise, and he is convinced that his peers in the scientific community are so immersed in group thought that they are unwilling to resort to Occam’s blade (one way). to think, analyze and deduce simple without delving into complexities) “.
Loeb, who has long served as president of astronomy at Harvard University, has published hundreds of groundbreaking articles and collaborated with greats like the late Stephen Hawking, is hard to dismiss.
The scientist thinks that “the idea that we are unique and special is arrogance.”
“The right approach is to be humble and say, ‘We’re not special, there are a lot of other cultures, we just have to find them,'” he said. “These ideas that have always arisen to explain the characteristics of Oumuamua do not include something that we have never seen before,” said Loeb.
“If this is the direction we are taking, why don’t we think it is of synthetic origin?” He added.
Oumuamua was not photographed up close during its short stay, as its existence was discovered as soon as it left our solar system.
There are two forms which correspond to the distinct characteristics observed. Long and thin like a cigar, or flat and round like a pancake.
But Loeb points out that the simulations lean towards the second option, and he believes the object was intentionally fabricated in the form of a sail propelled by stellar radiation.
It was also surprising the way the object moved, which made its passage even stranger.
Before colliding with our sun, Ouumuamua was “at rest” relative to its neighboring stars, which is a rarity. Rather than seeing it as a vessel rushing through space, from the point of view of its shape, our solar system collided with it. But Loeb’s ideas put him at odds with his peers.
Astrophysicist Ethan Segel described him in Forbes magazine as a “once respected scientist,” but he failed to convince his peers of his arguments, so he began to try to persuade the public. Loeb, for his part, protests the academy’s “culture of bullying” which punishes those who question orthodoxy, just as Galileo was punished for suggesting that Earth is not the center. of the universe.
• Flat and round like a pancake, as scientist Avi Loeb thinks.
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