Alien Ship Stirred The World

What is the Oumuamua space object?

Because of the unusual shape and trajectory of motion, Oumuamua asteroid was called the “alien ship”. The discrepancy between the behavior of a space object and the calculations of scientists has generated a lot of speculation on the topic of a visit to the solar system by representatives of the alien mind.

Beyond the laws of physics

Oumuamua was discovered by astronomers in October 2017. Scientists have noticed how some large object was moving towards the solar system. Within a few months, the asteroid approached the Sun and walked past Earth. Astronomers know that similar objects constantly pass through the solar system, but this asteroid has attracted the attention of researchers because of its size.

Oumuamua reaches a length of 400 meters and 30 meters in diameter, has an unusual cigar-shaped shape. But for a more detailed study of the asteroid, modern science does not possess the necessary technical means. Especially considering the large distance from it to the Earth and the relatively small size of the object. Oumuamua began his journey through our solar system at a speed of just over 20 km / h, which increased as the light approached the Sun due to gravity. Scientists logically assumed that when an object leaves the solar system, its speed will slow down, but in spite of mathematical calculations it has increased. This fact gave food for thought to lovers of mysticism and allowed some experts to put forward a version that the asteroid is actually an alien ship. True,

A few days ago, NASA employee Zdenek Sekanina put forward his version of the origin of the interstellar object. According to the researcher, Oumuamua is a fragment of a comet that disintegrated before approaching the Sun. The preprint of the article with Sekanina’s hypothesis was posted in the archive of electronic publications of scientific materials arXiv, reports the Science Alert.

In turn, astrophysicist Ethan Seagal gives two other explanations that can help unravel the mystery of Oumuamua. In the first case, the change in the velocity of the interstellar object may be due to the uneven heating of the object itself by the Sun, which caused anomalous acceleration. The second assumption is that solar radiation puts pressure on the asteroid and makes it move faster.

“The mechanism of uneven heating is extremely interesting. When one side of a falling interstellar object faces the Sun, it heats up to temperatures that may be hundreds of degrees higher than its opposite side. In results a large temperature gradient " - explains Segal.

Alien version

The theory of visiting the solar system by rational representatives of other planets was unexpectedly supported by representatives of the academic environment. Astrophysics at Harvard University Avi Loeb and Shmuel Bailey put forward a science fiction hypothesis regarding the origin of Oumuamua. They believe that Oumuamua may be a probe of aliens sent by a distant civilization. The scientific world and the media could not pass by such a sensational and unexpected statement. Although this idea has conquered the world, many scientists consider it the result of unsubstantiated fabrications.

"Given the artificial origin of the object, most likely, Oumuamua is a light sail that wanders in interstellar space, like a piece of advanced technological equipment of an extraterrestrial civilization," Loeb and Bailey wrote in their publication

While most scientists believe that Oumuamua is a kind of stone, be it an asteroid or an ice comet, Loeb points out that it moves too fast for an inert object, as if something is pushing it from behind. According to the scientist, the asteroid has so little weight that sunlight was able to push an object out of our planetary system.

The scientific community has criticized the hypothesis of Harvard scientists. For example, shortly after their publication, astrophysicist from Ohio State University, Paul M. Sutter wrote on Twitter: “Oumuamua is not an alien spacecraft, and the authors of the article insult scientific research, just even suggesting it.”