Astronomers believe an unusual object that entered the solar system last October might be an alien probe.
In a new scientific paper, Shmuel Bialy and Abraham Loeb of Harvard University in the US will say cigar-shaped ‘Oumuamua’ could be a spaceship.
They have put forward the idea that it is similar to a thin sail, with a very large area and a small mass.
Astronomers believe an unusual object that entered the solar system last October might be an alien probe.In a new scientific paper, Shmuel Bialy and Abraham Loeb of Harvard University in the US will say cigar-shaped ‘Oumuamua’ could be a spaceship
That shape would allow solar radiation to push the vessel along and explains the object’s unusual acceleration.
Claiming the vessel may be made by aliens, Dr Bialy told The Times: ‘Even if there’s a small chance it’s so interesting that we can’t ignore it.’
Oumuamua, which translates as ‘distant messenger from the past’ in Hawaiian, can reach speeds of up to 196,000mph. Its high speed suggests that it is not gravitationally bound to the Sun but is destined to head back out of the solar system.
The object reaches hundreds of yards in length but is only one tenth as wide.
The Harvard study is to be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
