This is the premise of the new book by Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb (and collaborator on occasion with physicist Stephen Hawking) who states that the object that crossed our solar system in 2017, known as Oumuamua, was nothing else. what alien technology.
Aliens have already visited Earth, according to Loeb
Sounds like science fiction? For Loeb the evidence is more than valid and he is convinced that his colleagues in the scientific community are so consumed by groupthink that they are not willing to accept Ockham’s razor , that is, the philosophical-logical principle according to which, “All things being equal, the simplest explanation is usually the most likely.”
In the new book by the oldest professor at the Ivy League College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, entitled “Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth,” claims that the best explanation for the unusual interstellar object traveling at high speed through our solar system and captured five years ago represented alien technology . But he is convinced that his colleagues in the scientific community dismissed this possibility as an asteroid, when in fact it was an alien ship.
This astrophysicist is no stranger to controversy. Despite the fact that he had previously done quite pioneering research on black holes, gamma-ray bursts, the early universe, and other similar topics within his field, he has also flirted with scientific controversy by talking about aliens. Take part in Breakthrough Starshot , a project funded by Silicon Valley billionaire Yuri Milner to send laser-powered mirror-like spider web-like spaceships called “light sails” on high-speed trips to nearby stars. However, at the end of 2017, something changed. Every astronomer in the world began studying an enigmatic interstellar visitor, the first ever detected, that was briefly within range of our telescopes.
What was this interstellar visitor?
The discoverers of the object called it “Oumuamua”, a Hawaiian term that means “explorer”. Early inquiries showed that it had several properties that defied natural explanation. Its shape, like a cigar, did not look much like any known asteroid or comet. Nor was it how bright it was, as Oumuamua was at least 10 times more reflective than one of the typical space rocks in our solar system. Unusually bright. Was it made of shiny metal? Furthermore, when it moved away from us, the mysterious object accelerated faster than could be explained solely by the gravitational weakening of our star.
Artificial origin?
Loeb exposes that the simulations favor an artificial origin of the object and believes that it was deliberately designed as a light sail propelled by stellar radiation.
The astronomer protests a ‘culture of intimidation’ in the academy that punishes those who question orthodoxy, just as Galileo was punished when he proposed that the Earth was not the center of the universe. According to him, the search for extraterrestrial life is a common sense path to follow and that is why he is promoting a new branch of astronomy, ‘space archeology’ , to search for biological and technological signatures of aliens.
“Instead of fighting each other as nations do so often, perhaps we would collaborate, ” he says.
If you’re curious, in his book, Loeb deals with both his life story and the fundamental mysteries of Oumuamua and why he thinks science is in crisis.
