The cigar-shaped interstellar object is perhaps a foreign probe, suggest astronomers

According to an astronomer at Harvard University, a mysterious cigar-shaped object seen rocking through our solar system last year could well be an alien spacecraft sent to study the Earth.

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

Since its discovery, scientists have struggled to explain its unusual characteristics and precise origins. Researchers first described it as a comet, then asteroid, before considering it as the first of its kind: a new class of "interstellar objects".

Now, a new article by Harvard Smithsonian Astrophysical Center researchers suggests that the dark red elongated object, 10 times as long as it is wide and moving at a speed of 196,000 km / h, could have artificial origin ". "

"" Oumuamua is perhaps a fully operational probe, intentionally sent to the Earth's surroundings by an extraterrestrial civilization, "they wrote in the paper, which was submitted to the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The theory is based on the "excessive acceleration" of the object, or on its unexpected acceleration when it went through and finally left our solar system in January 2018.

"Considering an artificial origin, one of the possibilities is that" Oumuamua is a light sail, floating in interstellar space as a debris of advanced technological equipment, "wrote the authors of the paper, suggesting that the Object could be powered by solar radiation.

The paper, written by Abraham Loeb, Professor and Chair of Astronomy, and Shmuel Bialy, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, indicates that comparable bright sails already exist on Earth.

"Light sails of similar dimensions were designed and built by our own civilization, including the IKAROS project and the Starshot Initiative Light-sail technology could be used extensively for the transport of cargo between planets and stars. . "

In the article, both theorists believe that the high speed of the object and its unusual trajectory could be the result of its non-operation.

This would explain the various anomalies of Oumuamua, such as the unusual geometry deduced from its light curve, its low thermal emission, suggesting a high reflectivity, and its deviation from a Keplerian orbit without any sign of tail or couples spin. "

"Oumuamua is the first object ever seen in our solar system whose origin is known.

At first, astronomers thought that the faint, rapidly moving light was a comet or asteroid from our solar system.

Comets are known to accelerate due to a process called "degassing", in which the sun warms the surface of the icy comet, releasing molten gas. But "Oumuamua did not have a coma," the atmosphere and dust that surround comets when they melt.

Several telescopes focused on the object for three nights to determine what it was like before it disappeared from view.

"We are fortunate that our sky-watching telescope is looking at the right place at the right time to seize this historic moment," said NASA's Global Defense Officer, Lindley Johnson, in a statement. 39, last year.

"This fortuitous discovery is a scientific bonus made possible by NASA's efforts to find, track and characterize objects close to the Earth that could pose a threat to our planet."