Astronomers to Check Mysterious Interstellar Object for Signs of Technology - Sensationalist Headlines

[QUOTE]A day later, Milner’s assistant summoned Loeb to Milner’s home in Palo Alto. They met there this past Saturday to talk about ‘Oumuamua, a Hawaiian word for “messenger.” Loeb ran through the space rock’s peculiarities, particularly its elongated shape, which looks like a cigar or needle—an odd shape for a common space rock. For Milner, the object was becoming too intriguing to ignore. So he’s decided to take a closer look. Breakthrough Listen announced Monday that the program will start checking ‘Oumuamua this week for signs of radio signals using the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. The interstellar asteroid is now about twice the distance between the Earth and the sun from our planet, moving at a brisk clip of 38.3 kilometers per second. At this close distance, Green Bank can detect the faintest frequencies. It would take the telescope less than a minute to pick up something as faint as the radio waves from a cellphone. If ‘Oumuamua is sending signals, we’ll hear them.[/QUOTE] [url]https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/12/yuri-milner-oumuamua-interstellar-asteroid/547985/[/url]

I always get tentatively hyped when something like this pops up, In all likelihood this is just an oddly shaped bit of space debris. But we don't know that till we get a really good look at it.

Stray rail-gun round from a space battle far far away.

He has a point. It's the first interstellar object (to our knowledge) pass through our solar system and it [I]just[/I] happens to have a very, very peculiar shape.

Not saying it is, but it isn't far fetched that if you were to make a less obvious [i]"I'm a spaceship"[/i] for safety reasons you'd make your ship look like an asteroid/install your spaceship into one.

As renowned astronomer and futurist Sigmund Freud once said: [I]"Sometimes a cigar shaped interstellar object is just a cigar shaped interstellar object."[/I]

Probably just coming by to talk with the whales.

So if they DO detect something from it, does this mean we should collectively shit ourselves?

[QUOTE=Zero-Point;52968416]So if they DO detect something from it, does this mean we should collectively shit ourselves?[/QUOTE] Probably not, something would have happened by now. But it does mean a fucking rock is giving off radio signals and it came from somewhere not of this solar system so that is the big deal.

If they detect radio signals, I hope they send a manned mission to investigate further, would be interesting in what they find.

sadly if anything is detected, it'll be smothered by the government before we find out

[QUOTE=Amplar;52968422]sadly if anything is detected, it'll be smothered by the government before we find out[/QUOTE] "It was just a cigar-shaped interstellar weather balloon, everyone. Nothing to see here."

[QUOTE=Gary D;52968419]If they detect radio signals, I hope they send a manned mission to investigate further, would be interesting in what they find.[/QUOTE] [quote]The interstellar asteroid is now about twice the distance between the Earth and the sun from our planet, moving at a brisk clip of 38.3 kilometers per second[/quote] I doubt it would be a manned mission, distance involved is well beyond what we can safely do, much more likely a probe or shuttle designed to alter its trajectory.

There is zero chance it would be a manned mission.

[QUOTE=Zero-Point;52968416]So if they DO detect something from it, does this mean we should collectively shit ourselves?[/QUOTE] If they did, it would be the biggest discovery in history, "collectively shitting ourselves" doesn't even begin to describe what would happen.

Good lord, could you imagine an intelligent alien race sending us a care package? History to forever to remember the "turd shaped object" that changed everything forever.

[QUOTE=Laserbeams;52968447]If they did, it would be the biggest discovery in history, "collectively shitting ourselves" doesn't even begin to describe what would happen.[/QUOTE] If I remember what I read correctly The article I read basically describes that it would be the single most important event in all human history Everything from then on in our history would be be categorised as pre, and post contact. On a smaller level, riots, panicking, public losing their shit even war being a possible outcome because it's [B]that[/B] pants shittingly important. :v:

If anything was detected, we wouldn't be able to catch up with the damn thing :v:

[QUOTE=Paul-Simon;52968476]If anything was detected, we wouldn't be able to catch up with the damn thing :v:[/QUOTE] well it's moving at 38.3 km/s and juno went about 73km/s(?*), I'm sure we could figure something out right? (*Might be totally wrong)

[QUOTE=slapdown3;52968483]well it's moving at 38.3 km/s and juno went about 73km/s(?*), I'm sure we could figure something out right? (*Might be totally wrong)[/QUOTE] Yeah, but keep in mind that in order to catch up with it, we need to conceptualise, engineer and build the craft and we need to plan for an optimal launch window (well, in this case it's probably just "ASAP"). All while it's travelling away from us at an enormous speed. Would take a long time to catch up to that.

[QUOTE=Paul-Simon;52968505]Yeah, but keep in mind that in order to catch up with it, we need to conceptualise, engineer and build the craft and we need to plan for an optimal launch window (well, in this case it's probably just "ASAP"). All while it's travelling away from us at an enormous speed. Would take a long time to catch up to that.[/QUOTE] Would most likely use 1 craft to slow it down enough to put it into a sun or planetary orbit, and then another to bring it closer or to Earth or to study it.

[QUOTE=The Rifleman;52968510]Would most likely use 1 craft to slow it down enough to put it into a sun or planetary orbit, [B]and then another to bring it closer or to Earth[/B] or to study it.[/QUOTE] This is how the necromorphs get you

[QUOTE] the space rock’s peculiarities, particularly its elongated shape, which looks like a cigar or needle[/QUOTE] this is literally the plot to rendezvous with rama

[QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;52968515]this is literally the plot to rendezvous with rama[/QUOTE] It really is, almost exactly

:xfiles: It's probably just a funny looking rock ... probably?

[QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;52968515]this is literally the plot to rendezvous with rama[/QUOTE] I know it's not likely but imagine how crazy it would be if this was real: [IMG]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Rama16wiki.jpg[/IMG]

Pretty sure that an alien race would be way better at hiding their spaceship, and if they didn't want to hide it they'd just be upfront with us (or they're coming to kill us all).

[QUOTE=Tetracycline;52968617]Pretty sure that an alien race would be way better at hiding their spaceship, and if they didn't want to hide it they'd just be upfront with us (or they're coming to kill us all).[/QUOTE] I'm ready to kick alien ass

[QUOTE=Mort Stroodle;52968515]this is literally the plot to rendezvous with rama[/QUOTE] I was gonna post this myself when i saw read the article :v:

[QUOTE=Tetracycline;52968617]Pretty sure that an alien race would be way better at hiding their spaceship, and if they didn't want to hide it they'd just be upfront with us (or they're coming to kill us all).[/QUOTE] unless they were unsure if there was other life in the universe. might be really good at space ships but shit at everything else.