‘Oumuamua is unprecedented
Written by Goro, November 5, 2018
Yes, the midterm elections are here and important. But under the big noise there is also an unprecedented situation developing with our mysterious interstellar visitor ‘Oumuamua: Professional scientists and mainstream media are (still) seriously considering the possibility it might be an alien spaceship(!). I watch the news and media very closely and have done so for as long as I can remember. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like this. Again: Professional scientists and mainstream media. This is from today, for example, featured on the front page of nbcnews.com:
Nov 05 Scientists say mysterious ‘Oumuamua’ object could be an alien spacecraft
Now a pair of Harvard researchers are raising the possibility that Oumuamua is an alien spacecraft. As they say in a paper to be published Nov. 12 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the object “may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization.” […]
Usually stories like this don’t last long as they get explained away fairly quickly. Not so with ‘Oumuamua. The more scientists examine it, the more mysterious it gets. ‘Oumuamua was discovered a year ago (Oct 19, 2017) and it caused a lot of excitement with all kinds of speculations thrown around. A year later, Harvard scientists are saying it could be an alien spacecraft. This is an unprecedented situation.
Something feels different this time. Something more consequential. And with a name like ‘Oumuamua – meaning “scout” – we can’t help but anticipate there’s “more” coming. As if there is an ongoing… “countdown”.
UPDATE (November 6): Now it’s on the front page of CNN.com!
Nov 06 Cigar-shaped interstellar object may have been an alien probe, Harvard paper claims