Harvard Scientists Think An Alien Probe Might've Passed Earth Last Year (And We're All Doomed)

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mattstaff
Nov 6, 2018 3:00 PM EST

When news of a couple Harvard scientists thinking there's some extraterrestrial scrap and/or "light sail" cruising by Earth, you pause your Mass Effect 2 and listen up. The internet's abuzz with all kinds of competing theories on the mad scientists from Harvard's theory; but it boils down to the undeniable likelihood that it's an odd cigar-shaped asteroid, which could by a sliver of a chance be alien junk. That sliver of a chance is enough to get the juices of the collective extraterrestrial-oriented science community, flowing. I'd still love (I think?) to end up reading about how this space cigar is some sort of alien light sail (cargo hold ship), but the odds are not in our favor at the moment. So, keep the tin foil hat stashed for now, and continue planning your next retreat to Area 51 to gather more evidence. Maybe they've already accumulated a collection of the Milky Way's finest space cigars. 

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  • 01

    Look at that beaut.

    Atmosphere
    via Cheezburger
  • 02

    Dude, I'm down.

    Text - t 173 586 Harvard ITC TO @HarvardITC Oct 30 Report on new paper of ITC director Avi Loeb with ITC postdoc Shmuel Bialy on the possibility that Oumumua is a light-sail
    via @HarvardITC
  • 03
    Text - t1.6K 2.6K Harvard ITC ITO @HarvardITC 23h Scientists say mysterious 'Oumuamua' object could be an alien spacecraft nbcnews.com/mach/science/s... via @NBCNewsMACH
    via @HarvardITC
  • 04
    Text - NBC Bay Area NBC BAY AREA Follow @nbcbayarea Scientists have been puzzling over Oumuamua ever since the mysterious space object was observed tumbling past the sun in late 2017, and now a pair of Harvard researchers are raising the possibility that it's an alien spacecraft. nbcbay.com/K9qNffK
    via @HarvardITC
  • 05

    Don't ask questions you're not ready for the answers to...

    Text - t 77 458 Mason Wolf @_MasonW Oct 30 Replying to @kottke If it was a probe on a reconnaissance mission, as Avi Loeb contemplates, the obvious question is, once the civilization that sent it receives back information about our system, what will they do with it? Very cool article. Thank you for sharing it.
    via @HarvardITC
  • 06
    Text - t 23 86 Jason @jradisson Nov 3 This following last year's work by Avi Loeb on fast radio bursts that could power such a light sail. @HarvardlTC
    via @HarvardITC
  • 07
    Text - t 42 232 dan @DanLaChapelle 16h Replying to @mattdpearce I'm a fan of this theory: news.ycombinator.com/item? id-182003... "...that it's a spent stage of a multi-stage spacecraft. If the primary stage were decelerating for a rendezvous with Earth, then any stage that made it to full acceleration would reach us first..." I prefer a complementary theory -- that it's a spent stage of a multi-stage... news.ycombinator.com
    via @HarvardITC
  • 08

    Captain Buzzkill coming in HOT.

    Text - t 17 98 21st Century SETI @21stCenturySETI 5h This was partly brought about by its unusual, elongated shape, but as observations built up, it quickly became apparent that 'Oumuamua was a comet or an asteroid of some kind, although which it is comet or asteroid is still being debated.
    via @HarvardITC
  • 09
    Text - t 12 92 21st Century SETI @21stCenturySETI 5h 'Oumuamua had, in fact, been predicted. Estimates suggest that there could be 10,000 such interstellar objects passing though our Solar System at any one time. They're just difficult to find, but hopefully new survey telescopes coming online should find them in greater numbers
    via @HarvardITC
  • 10
    Text - t 12 74 21st Century SETI @21stCenturySETI 5h With so many rogue interstellar asteroids and comets, it seems very unlikely that the first one we find is not an asteroid or comet, but a probe. That's not to say such probes do not exist, but the odds are against 'Oumuamua being one, unless there are lots of probes visiting us
    via @HarvardITC
  • 11
    Text - t 13 90 21st Century SETI @21stCenturySETI 5h Although I disagree with their conclusion I don't see a problem with the researchers, Shmuel Bialy and Avi Loeb, presenting their hypothesis. However, it shows how, if we discover a strong candidate SETI signal, scientists will have to be careful how they present it to the media
    via @HarvardITC
  • 12
    Text - t 32 120 21st Century SETI @21stCenturySETI 5h To conclude: Bialy and Loeb think 'Oumuamua could be a probe. Most scientists think it's an asteroid or comet. Observational evidence & Occam's razor suggest it's likely the latter. It is possible that one day we could find a probe, but it would require incontrovertible evidence.
    via @HarvardITC
  • 13

    And we reward the scrap to Earth's highest bidder, Elon Musk.

    Text - ti6 30 phawker @phawker 14h Replying to @jfagone The way I have heard this framed is that it is possibly a piece of alien tech a light sail? that has been discarded or left behind for whatever reason and is now space debris, not an intact craft being piloted by alien life.
    via @HarvardITC

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