A strange object hurdling through our solar system from interstellar space may, according to one of academia’s most controversial astronomers, have been sent by aliens to see how smart we are.
The newly-discovered object, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, is only the third interstellar object of its kind to have been observed visiting our solar system. While most astronomers, including those at NASA, believe it to be a comet, Harvard’s resident alien-hunter Avi Loeb has repeatedly suggested that it was sent to us by an extraterrestrial civilization — and may even function as something of a “Turing Test” for humanity.
In a new blog post, Loeb — who has become infamous in scientific circles for suggesting ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object ever detected back in 2017, was an alien spacecraft — laid out his latest theory about 3I/ATLAS.
“It is well known to any interstellar traveler that there are plenty of icy rocks in planetary systems,” Loeb wrote. “These constitute the leftover building blocks from the construction process of the planets.”
“For that reason, an alien might assume that any intelligent observer on Earth must be familiar with space rocks as they impact the Earth on a regular basis,” he continued, before advising: “Not so fast.”
Though his case for 3I/ATLAS being a Turing Test sent by alien intelligence is pretty far-fetched, his insistence that his fellow scientists lack even human smarts is well-argued.
Citing “terrestrial comet expert” Chris Lintott of Oxford, who insisted last month that Loeb’s alien-origin theory is “nonsense on stilts, and is an insult to the exciting work going on to understand this object,” the Harvard alien hunter suggested that any extraterrestrial being who encountered such dismissals could “justifiably conclude that humans failed the test and do not deserve a high status in the class of intelligent civilizations within the Milky-Way galaxy.”
Ouch.
As the Harvard astronomer has contended, the scientific establishment at large may have gotten it wrong by immediately declaring 3I/ATLAS to be a comet. He pointed out new Hubble Space Telescope images of the object to back up his claim, which show a “glow” ahead of it, but “no prominent cometary tail behind it, as is the case for common comets.”
Loeb also pointed out that spectroscopic measurements do not indicate that there’s any “molecular or atomic gas accompanying the glow around 3I/ATLAS,” further undermining the theory that it’s a comet.
To Loeb, there is one predominant alternative explanation about the origins of 3I/ATLAS if it’s not a comet: that it’s “a technological object which targets the inner solar system,” and even perfectly times its “arrival time” for “a close encounter with Mars, Venus and Jupiter.”
Obviously, in a Universe as vast and unknowable as our own, there are other, non-alien explanations for all those anomalous properties seen in 3I/ATLAS.
To test his alien-origin theory out, Loeb has another, even more provocative proposal: sending a Morse…
Source link
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We blogs.grocliq.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on for any glitch kindly connect at [email protected]
