Mysterious object in space might be alien – Researchers

It’s been dubbed a comet, an asteroid and a new class of interstellar object. Now, a paper from Harvard astronomers suggests one more possibility for the mysterious object in space nicknamed ‘Oumuamua’: alien probe, writes Brett Molina for USA Today.

Researchers focused on whether solar radiation pressure could explain the unusual acceleration of Oumuamua, the first object entering the Earth’s solar system from interstellar space. The paper said if solar radiation pressure is the reason Oumuamua is moving at high speeds, it represents “a new class of thin interstellar material” either made naturally or through artificial means.

The paper’s authors, which include Avi Loeb, chair of Harvard University’s astronomy department, suggest the object could be a “lightsail” used to propel spacecraft with solar energy. The other possibility? It comes from aliens. “A more exotic scenario is that Oumuamua may be a fully operational probe sent intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilisation,” reads the paper.
Full report on the USA Today site