Scientists Say Interstellar Joint-Shaped Asteroid Wasn’t Aliens
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One of the highest of highlights in the realm of the scientific stoner was late last year. Researchers spotted an interstellar joint-shaped asteroid hurtling through our solar system. Space geeks from around the globe took a stab at analyzing the asteroid named ‘Oumuamua. They hoped to learn more about its origin. There was speculation that alien forces may have sent the mighty space rock into our star system. Perhaps as a means for collecting data on the bizarre ways of this place called Earth. It turns out that the cosmic superjoint wasn’t some intelligent life-engineered craft. It was just a phallic piece of the universe that may hold the secrets to life.
The Discovery of The Interstellar Joint-Shaped Asteroid
New Scientist
When scientists first discovered the football field-sized joint in the skies of Hawaii back in October, they pegged it to be an asteroid or a comet that had traveled millions of years from outside our solar system. Preliminary research suggested that the rock had been traveling at speeds of around 85,000 miles per hour before showing up in our galaxy. Researchers said at the time “the orbit calculations revealed beyond any doubt that this body did not originate from inside the solar system…but instead had come from interstellar space.”
Later, astronomers really rolled up their sleeves to try to understand the true nature of the interstellar joint-shaped asteroid. It seems that while these folks were scanning the rock for intelligent life, they stumbled onto some interesting transmissions. Transmissions indicating that superior beings with access to technology unbeknownst to our planet may have assembled ‘Oumuamua. The Breakthrough Listen Initiative, which is a $100 million program scouring space for extraterrestrials, dug deeper into the analysis. They spent countless hours examining all of the evidence they could pull by simply observing the rock’s radio signals.
But they recently concluded that none of the signals they discovered came from intelligent life.
Why Did They Think ‘Oumuamua Was Alien Craft?
One of the leading investors in the Breakthrough Listen Initiative was the Russian billionaire Yuri Milner. He persuaded his star hunting lackeys to explore the joint-shaped rock for artificial technology. He believed the object was far too intriguing for the program to close the book on. That’s when he made the call for scientists to begin exploring radio signals using a super-sensitive device known as the Green Bank Telescope. If there were strange frequencies radiating from ‘Oumuamua, this particular telescope would detect them. The group believes that if the mass had alien technology, Green Bank would have exposed it.
Scientists would have no idea what type of signals aliens might be using to communicate in space. So the project entailed hours of examining “all of the available frequencies”. At the time, scientists heading up the program said that the chances of discovering alien life were small. But it was not beyond the scope of possibility.
If the Space Joint Wasn’t Aliens, What Was It?
Although scientists do not believe that an alien world sent over ‘Oumuamua that’s not to say they have the object completely figured out… they don’t. Contrary to previous thought, we now know that the space joint is neither an asteroid nor a comet. Researchers say that while examining ‘Oumuamua, it did not behave like a comet because there was no surface ice boiling off leading to the development of a tail. They also ruled out the possibility of the object being a common asteroid since they found none of the minerals that are typical of such space objects.
Scientists say the object’s composition is mostly ice with an ancient carbon-rich surface. While asteroidal in appearance, researchers now believe that ‘Oumuamua consists of multiple layers of ice, which likely originated from alien water sources, and it is covered by a dark red carbon resin-like substance. Because of this protective coating, the ice inside is unable to boil off, despite the fact that the object experienced temperatures close 550 degrees Fahrenheit when it shuttled passed the Sun.
Basically, the object has been labeled an interstellar “building block” of star systems. All of the latest research suggests there are more ‘Oumuamua-like objects hanging around our solar system, but they are rare.
Final Hit: We Could Still Be Dealing With Aliens
Astronomers are officially finished trying to sonically dissect ‘Oumuamua. The interstellar joint-shaped asteroid is now hundreds of millions of miles away from Earth, on a mission to perhaps create new worlds somewhere on the other side of the universe. Yet the scientific community is still left thinking that the bizarre object that snuck up on our solar system last year may hold some powerful secrets. You see researchers were only able to examine ‘Oumuamua with the level of technology available. Astronomers connected to the project have admitted that their ability to examine extremely high or low frequencies was relatively limited. They simply did the best they could with the tools they had at their disposal. This means that the results associated with ‘Oumuamua are not conclusive, and it is still possible the object contained seeds of life we may never know.
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