CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (WSVN) – A mysterious, elongated object that was seen speeding past the sun in 2017 could have been a space probe sent by aliens to spy on Earth, according to two Harvard researchers.
In a paper that will be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on Nov. 12, a pair of researchers explore the idea that the object, known as Oumuamua, “may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization.”
While it’s not explicitly clear that Oumuamua was sent by aliens, researchers used meticulous mathematical analysis to make the case that the object was a “lightsail of artificial origin” due to the way it sped up as it passed by the sun.
After using telescopes to determine if Oumuamua was an asteroid or comet, researchers settled on the term artificial origin because of its “excess acceleration” and “highly hyperbolic trajectory.”
“Considering an artificial origin, one possibility is that Oumuamua is a lightsail, floating in interstellar space as a debris from an advanced technological equipment. Lightsails with similar dimensions have been designed and constructed by our own civilization,” an excerpt from the paper read.
The object was said to be 10 times longer than it is wide and it traveled at speeds of nearly 200,000 mph.
It withstood collisions with gas and dust-grains, as well as stresses from the rotation and tidal forces of space, according to researchers.
Due to Oumuamua’s abnormal speeds and trajectory, researchers concluded that the object is likely no longer operational.
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