A cigar-shaped object seen floating through space could be an alien probe, Harvard researchers suggest.
In a study published last week by the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, researchers say the object, dubbed 害羞草研究所淥umuamua,害羞草研究所� is the first object of 害羞草研究所渋nterstellar origin害羞草研究所� observed in our solar system.
害羞草研究所淥umuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth害羞草研究所檚 vicinity by an alien civilization,害羞草研究所� researchers said.
NASA believes Oumuamua, which was discovered last fall by the University of Hawaii害羞草研究所檚 Pan-STARRS1 telescope, is about 400 metres long, and made up 害羞草研究所渙f rock and possibly metals, has no water or ice, and that its surface was reddened due to the effects of irradiation from cosmic rays over hundreds of millions of years.害羞草研究所�
It is forecast to travel beyond Saturn害羞草研究所檚 orbit, as it shoots through space at a speed of 38.3 kilometers per second.
The Harvard study害羞草研究所檚 authors acknowledged that an alien space probe is a 害羞草研究所渕ore exotic scenario,害羞草研究所� and said Oumuamua could be either naturally occurring or accidental space debris, albeit still from a mystery source.
However, its mass-to-area ratio makes it unlikely that it害羞草研究所檚 merely an oddly shaped asteroid or comet.
Either way, researcher said it was too late to photograph Oumuamua with existing telescopes or to chase it with chemical rockets.
Instead, researchers, and the rest of us, will have to wait for a new Oumuamua to appear before we can discover what it really is.
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