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 香蕉视频直播淥umuamua,香蕉视频直播� is the first object of 香蕉视频直播渋nterstellar origin香蕉视频直播� observed in our solar system.
香蕉视频直播淥umuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth香蕉视频直播檚 vicinity by an alien civilization,香蕉视频直播� researchers said.
NASA believes Oumuamua, which was discovered last fall by the University of Hawaii香蕉视频直播檚 Pan-STARRS1 telescope, is about 400 metres long, and made up 香蕉视频直播渙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.香蕉视频直播�
It is forecast to travel beyond Saturn香蕉视频直播檚 orbit, as it shoots through space at a speed of 38.3 kilometers per second.
The Harvard study香蕉视频直播檚 authors acknowledged that an alien space probe is a 香蕉视频直播渕ore exotic scenario,香蕉视频直播� 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香蕉视频直播檚 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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