Interstellar asteroid shows no signs of life so far

[Laika]

Oumuamua is a cigar-shaped asteroid 400 metres long and 40 metres wide and the first confirmed interstellar object. It has travelled past the earth at 85 times the distance from the moon and is expected to leave to Solar system with its speed peaking at 196,000 mph. Oumuamua is Hawaiian for "scout" or "Messenger".The oddness of its shape meant that scientists have considered the possibility that it was of artificial origin. It has been scanned for signs of radio transmissions and so far shown no signs of intelligent life.

The first batch of four observations ran from 8.45pm UK time on Wednesday until 2.45am on Thursday morning and spanned a frequency range from 1 to 12 GHz. While the search for alien signals has so far found nothing in the 1.7 to 2.6GHz range, the rest of the data is still being processed.

Is ‘Oumuamua an alien spacecraft? Initial scans show no signs of technology

Astronomers to check interstellar body for signs of alien technology

I think @Quetzal may like this one. Any thoughts star gazers?

 

[Terese]

That'd be amazing if it was of alien origin. I bet it'd humble a lot of people

 

[Muslim-UK]

Dr Jason Wright from Penn State University suggests that a broken alien spacecraft move in exactly the same way as the interstellar comet.

Rather than moving through space like other space rocks, astronomers believe that it is 'tumbling' through our solar system.

Writing in his blog, Dr Wright, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, says: 'Such derelict craft would, if they are not travelling so fast that they escape the Galaxy, eventually 'thermalize' with the stars and end up drifting around like any other interstellar comet or asteroid.

'In fact, since they (presumably) no longer have attitude control, one would expect that they would eventually begin to tumble, and if they are very rigid that tumbling might distinguish them from ordinary interstellar asteroids… and in fact, just because their propulsion is broken doesn't mean that their radio transmitters would be broken.'

Dr Wright suggests that the object could be a 'Von Neumann probe' - a theoretical self-replicating spacecraft that visits star systems.

He added: 'Such a discovery would imply that there are lots of these things in the solar system at any given moment (even if they are deliberately targeting the sun, they are hard to spot and we'll miss most of them), and so lots of opportunities to study them.'

Dr Wright previously suggested the mysterious dimming of star KIC 8462852 – also known as Tabby’s Star – could be caused by an alien megastructure called a Dyson Sphere.


Cigar-shaped asteroid Oumuamua could be alien UFO with broken engines | Metro News

 

[Subduction Zone]

Dr Jason Wright from Penn State University suggests that a broken alien spacecraft move in exactly the same way as the interstellar comet.

Rather than moving through space like other space rocks, astronomers believe that it is 'tumbling' through our solar system.

Writing in his blog, Dr Wright, an associate professor of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State University, says: 'Such derelict craft would, if they are not travelling so fast that they escape the Galaxy, eventually 'thermalize' with the stars and end up drifting around like any other interstellar comet or asteroid.

'In fact, since they (presumably) no longer have attitude control, one would expect that they would eventually begin to tumble, and if they are very rigid that tumbling might distinguish them from ordinary interstellar asteroids… and in fact, just because their propulsion is broken doesn't mean that their radio transmitters would be broken.'

Dr Wright suggests that the object could be a 'Von Neumann probe' - a theoretical self-replicating spacecraft that visits star systems.

He added: 'Such a discovery would imply that there are lots of these things in the solar system at any given moment (even if they are deliberately targeting the sun, they are hard to spot and we'll miss most of them), and so lots of opportunities to study them.'

Dr Wright previously suggested the mysterious dimming of star KIC 8462852 – also known as Tabby’s Star – could be caused by an alien megastructure called a Dyson Sphere.


Cigar-shaped asteroid Oumuamua could be alien UFO with broken engines | Metro News

Asteroids tumble based upon how long they have been in orbit and their size. A tumbling object will eventually stabilize, due to its own microgravity. Here are a couple of videos that explain this:

They are mirrors of the original. The original was seven or so years old and the original account is closed. That is a bit sad since he linked the paper that the work was based on, but you should be able to Google search for it by the name given in the videos.

Small asteroids will tumble for a longer period of time. Large ones will stabilize much more quickly. Please note, no planets or even half decent sized moons tumble in our Solar System. The size of the asteroid and the amount of tumbling could give us a maximum age for it. Though if it was small enough that age would still be greater than the age of the universe.

 

[BSM1]

That'd be amazing if it was of alien origin. I bet it'd humble a lot of people

If it were something someone ordered from Amazon would be even more amazing.

 

[Mindmaster]

Oumuamua is a cigar-shaped asteroid 400 metres long and 40 metres wide and the first confirmed interstellar object. It has travelled past the earth at 85 times the distance from the moon and is expected to leave to Solar system with its speed peaking at 196,000 mph. Oumuamua is Hawaiian for "scout" or "Messenger".The oddness of its shape meant that scientists have considered the possibility that it was of artificial origin. It has been scanned for signs of radio transmissions and so far shown no signs of intelligent life.

The first batch of four observations ran from 8.45pm UK time on Wednesday until 2.45am on Thursday morning and spanned a frequency range from 1 to 12 GHz. While the search for alien signals has so far found nothing in the 1.7 to 2.6GHz range, the rest of the data is still being processed.

Is ‘Oumuamua an alien spacecraft? Initial scans show no signs of technology

Astronomers to check interstellar body for signs of alien technology

I think @Quetzal may like this one. Any thoughts star gazers?

It's a damn shame, I was so excited about this possibility!

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Interesting, & worth checking! But unless the universe is much larger than we think, I'd say we're probably alone here

 

[sun rise]

Maybe "they" left the ship before it came into view and are even now amongst us.

 

[Father Heathen]

Interesting, & worth checking! But unless the universe is much larger than we think, I'd say we're probably alone here

There are trillions of galaxies, each with billions of stars, so I would say that the chances of more than just our star having an inhabitable planet are fairly good.

As far as irradiated rocks drifting through the vacuum of interstellar space go, however, I wouldn't have high expectations for life.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

There are trillions of galaxies, each with billions of stars, so I would say that the chances of more than just our star having an inhabitable planet are fairly good.

As far as irradiated rocks drifting through the vacuum of interstellar space go, however, I wouldn't have high expectations for life.

that's just one side of the equation, on the other side are all the hurdles facing an inhabitable planet- the numbers are vast on either side, but I think they say that even one is remarkable..


I guess some thought this might be a spacecraft because of it's shape.. but the 'great silence' of the universe appears to support the math...there's nobody else out there

 

[Father Heathen]

that's just one side of the equation, on the other side are all the hurdles facing an inhabitable planet- the numbers are vast on either side, but I think they say that even one is remarkable..

Any sources?

I guess some thought this might be a spacecraft because of it's shape.. but the 'great silence' of the universe appears to support the math...there's nobody else out there

Our own earliest broadcasts have only reached around 120 light years out, and our own galaxy is about 100,000 light years across, and the distances between galaxies tend to be from 1 to 13 billion light years apart.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Any sources?

Well there seems to be a broad consensus for the # of stars - somewhere in the range of 100s of billions of trillions.. or 10^22 to 10^24, right?

So that sounds like a lot, but we have to factor in the other side

Merely identify 2 very modest 1 in 10 probabilities against any star harboring a habitable planet- there go 2 of those zeros, you are almost 10% of the way to even odds, so you can get there very easily once you start delving in.

First off, most stars are nothing like ours- too hot/short lived, too small and cold, the vast majority are part of chaotic multiple systems- and/or exist in dense radiation soaked hubs of galaxies.

We also have a rotating iron core floating in molten rock, with just the right balance to generate a protective electromagnetic shield, a dynamic tectonic/regenerating surface, without destroying life altogether,
this ties in also with the water/land ratios etc..

The moon is probably one of the biggest hurdles, the odds of an inner rocky planet- acquiring a single vast stabilizing satellite, keeping rotation and seasons from tumbling out of control... and so allowing complex life to develop, are difficult to calculate, but certainly very very small-


That's just tossing out a couple, and we have lost several zeros already ... without even getting to the odds of life, and then intelligent life arising- it only happened once in billions of species here, and by apparently extremely unlikely events, so we could visit a billion planets identical to Earth, and expect to be greeted by dinosaurs more likely than intelligent beings

Our own earliest broadcasts have only reached around 120 light years out, and our own galaxy is about 100,000 light years across, and the distances between galaxies tend to be from 1 to 13 billion light years apart.

So the time lag works both ways, we would be able to detect civilizations from 50k years ago, at 50kly, that we would not otherwise without the lag. so it's a wash- no different than listening to the entire galaxy at one instant- and we get nada.

 

[Father Heathen]

So the time lag works both ways, we would be able to detect civilizations from 50k years ago, at 50kly, that we would not otherwise without the lag. so it's a wash- no different than listening to the entire galaxy at one instant- and we get nada.

50k light years is only halfway across our own galaxy, we wouldn't be getting signals from any contemporary civilizations unless they were very close, relatively speaking. Given the vast distance, any signals we get would have to be ancient otherwise.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

50k light years is only halfway across our own galaxy, we wouldn't be getting signals from any contemporary civilizations unless they were very close, relatively speaking. Given the vast distance, any signals we get would have to be ancient otherwise.

or 60k years ago from 60KLY or 75 from 75.. you get the picture.

Yes the galaxy is only about 100 KLY across, versus being billions of years old, so we are listening to the whole thing in a very contemporary slice of history- the relatively tiny time lag is irrelevant

This has also been enough time for any single civilization to have colonized the entire galaxy many times over, with little more than the technology we already have- after having only developed powered flight in little over a single lifetime..

Yet (ancient alien theories not withstanding) this has apparently never happened, why not?

 

[Father Heathen]

or 60k years ago from 60KLY or 75 from 75.. you get the picture.

Yes the galaxy is only about 100 KLY across, versus being billions of years old, so we are listening to the whole thing in a very contemporary slice of history- the relatively tiny time lag is irrelevant

This has also been enough time for any single civilization to have colonized the entire galaxy many times over, with little more than the technology we already have- after having only developed powered flight in little over a single lifetime..

Yet (ancient alien theories not withstanding) this has apparently never happened, why not?

You do realize that a "light year" is the distance light travels in a year, right? Humans first radio transmitions were around 1895, so about 120 years. Radio waves move at the speed of light, meaning the furthest our own transitions have reached is 120 light years. Again, our own galaxy is about 100,000 light years wide, and our galaxy is only one of out trillions of others.
It took Voyager 1 (the fastest man-made object at 38,610 mph) 35 years to exit our solar system (launched 1975 and crossed the heliopause in 2012).
Also, if the universe was only 6,000 to 10,000 years old, the sky would be mostly black, as light from the vast majority of stars wouldn't have have reached earth yet.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

You do realize that a "light year" is the distance light travels in a year, right? Humans first radio transmitions were around 1895, so about 120 years. Radio waves move at the speed of light, meaning the furthest our own transitions have reached is 120 light years. Again, our own galaxy is about 100,000 light years wide, and our galaxy is only one of out trillions of others.
It took Voyager 1 (the fastest man-made object at 38,610 mph) 35 years to exit our solar system (launched 1975 and crossed the heliopause in 2012).
Also, if the universe was only 6,000 to 10,000 years old, the sky would be mostly black, as light from the vast majority of stars wouldn't have have reached earth yet.

riiight.. so it's only a little over a parallax of one arcsecond to Alpha Centauri,

The galaxy is tiny compared with it's age. It could have been easily colonized by now countless time if ET was not at least extremely rare

It's also a remarkably large, beautiful, stable galaxy, if we are alone here it does not 'bode' well for life in others.

 

[Father Heathen]

riiight.. so it's only a little over a parallax of one arcsecond to Alpha Centauri,

The galaxy is tiny compared with it's age. It could have been easily colonized by now countless time if ET was not at least extremely rare

It's also a remarkably large, beautiful, stable galaxy, if we are alone here it does not 'bode' well for life in others.

So you're saying that we know there is no intelligent life out there because they would've "easily" had faster than light travel and left evidence at each of the billions of star systems in each of the trillions of galaxies? Then we must not exist since we haven't done the same.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

So you're saying that we know there is no intelligent life out there because they would've "easily" had faster than light travel and left evidence at each of the billions of star systems in each of the trillions of galaxies? Then we must not exist since we haven't done the same.

? No, as I said, there has been plenty time to colonize the galaxy over and over again with technology not much better than our own.

And consider that we only got off the ground with powered flight a little over a century ago, and already have probes outside our solar system-

Our planet would also have been detectable as prime real estate for a long time.



Of course we can't rule it out, but the 'great silence' backs up the math, it doesn't look good for ET, unless the universe is much much larger than we think

 

[Father Heathen]

? No, as I said, there has been plenty time to colonize the galaxy over and over again with technology not much better than our own.

Because technology that was capable of faster than light travel or even teleportation would be "not much better than are own." God, you're so adorable.

And consider that we only got off the ground with powered flight a little over a century ago, and already have probes outside our solar system-

Our planet would also have been detectable as prime real estate for a long time.

In other words the math I provided went waaay over your head. Got it. The sad thing is that it really wasn't that complicated.

Of course we can't rule it out, but the 'great silence' backs up the math, it doesn't look good for ET, unless the universe is much much larger than we think

By all means provide us with this this "math".

I think this all boils down to you simply being unable to accept possibilities that conflict with your beloved bronze age goat herder narrative.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Because technology that was capable of faster than light travel or even teleportation would be "not much better than are own." God, you're so adorable.



In other words the math I provided went waaay over your head. Got it. The sad thing is that it really wasn't that complicated.



By all means provide us with this this "math".

I think this all boils down to you simply being unable to accept possibilities that conflict with your beloved bronze age goat herder narrative.

Insults are the most graceless form of conceding defeat Heathen.. don't give up so easily.

If you any substantive argument I'd be interested, you seem like a reasonably intelligent person to me.