Since the sighting of the interstellar object ʻOumuamua, science has debated what it might be. The astronomer Avi Loeb has a clear opinion.
Cambridge – Man likes to see himself as the crown of creation and superior to other species. The prevailing opinion is that we are the only ones and those with the most highly developed civilization in the universe. Far from it, according to Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb: “We are by no means special,” says the researcher. For him, the assumption that intelligent extraterrestrial life exists is more likely than it doesn’t.
The nature and development of the universe alone speak for Loeb that extraterrestrial life can be assumed. And every now and then it also provides signs that suggest this assumption. For example, an object called ʻOumuamua, which in Hawaiian means “scout”. ʻOumuamua was spotted with a telescope from Hawaii in 2017 when it was flying past the sun and on its way back to interstellar space. It is the first interstellar – that is, not tied to a star like the sun – object that was observed in our solar system.
Object ʻOumuamua: Research disagrees
Opinions differ in science about ʻOumuamua. In astronomy it was usually identified as a rock, i.e. an asteroid or comet. In spring 2021, two studies were published describing ‘Oumuamua as a fragment of an exo-pluto *. However, Avi Loeb argues against such theories on several points, as he has already explained in articles and recently also to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ).
“‘Oumuamua looked different from anything we had seen before,” said the astronomer. It had six anomalies, including that it reflected sunlight. In addition, the amount of reflected sunlight changed by a factor of ten, while the object rotated around its own axis every eight hours. “This change in light corresponded most closely to a flat object like a pancake,” Loeb describes the object.
As a further anomaly, the researcher cites the appearance that ‘Oumuamua was influenced by a force other than the sun’s gravity, without evaporation of gases or a comet’s tail being discernible. “It seemed that this could only be plausibly explained by the fact that the object reflected sunlight. As a necessary prerequisite for this effect, however, the object should have been as thin as a sail. Something like this is called a light sail, ”Loeb continues.
The technology of the light sail is currently being developed for the exploration of space. According to Loeb, the light sail could have been created artificially, i.e. made by someone. This view provoked loud backlash. “And I’ll stick to it: if it is actually something that we have never seen before, we should at least continue to consider the possibility that it is of artificial origin,” suggests Loeb in the NZZ.
ʻOumuamua possibly an artificial object from another civilization
Assuming that ‘Oumuamua is actually a built object from a high-tech civilization, the question still remains: Was it intentionally sent into our solar system, for example to scout us, or did it move into it by accident? “If I have learned one thing in decades as a practicing astronomer, it is a sense of modesty,” warns Loeb.
He compares humanity with actors standing on a stage without knowing what the play is about. First of all, when observing it, it becomes clear that that stage – the universe – is huge. “Besides, our existence didn’t begin until the end of the piece – a lot of people don’t fully understand this fact. This piece was already running 13.8 billion years before we appeared there, and therefore it is somewhat understandable that we are not the main characters in it – even if we are often inclined to believe that. “
Objects from other civilizations could move in the universe
Because most of the stars were formed far before the sun. Half of the sun-like stars have exoplanets, many of which are about the size of the earth and move around their sun at a similar distance. “Against this background, we are by no means special, unique, privileged or even particularly interesting,” Loeb’s conclusion to the NZZ.
So if one assumes that billions of years ago millions of civilizations like ours already existed, one might think that these civilizations also sent devices into space. In a billion years, our Voyager spacecraft will no longer function and our civilization will no longer exist, but Voyager will still be in space and possibly visit other solar systems.
This could also have been the case with ‘Oumuamua: “So we will usually find objects in interstellar space that are not only billions of years old, but also were built by civilizations that most likely no longer exist. The technology will no longer work and it is certainly not intended to spy on us. We shouldn’t take ourselves more seriously than we are! “
Loeb finds it “presumptuous” to believe that civilizations from other planets are interested in us and therefore sent objects into our solar system. Only in the past 100 years would we have developed technologies that could be of interest to other civilizations at all. And according to the scientist, we have not yet reached the level that could make us interesting to them. “We have to look out for them, not the other way around.”
Researcher would like to find more interstellar objects like ʻOumuamua
Of course, this requires funds to be used for the search. “If we don’t look, it’s clear that we won’t find anything,” warns Loeb in the NZZ. He thinks it makes sense to introduce space archeology, a new frontier discipline in research. In this, unusual looking objects that come from outside into our solar system could be examined. One has to be prepared to photograph such objects and land on them in order to take samples and bring them to earth. Then Loeb hopes for a chain reaction:
“That could be a technology that is in the future for us, a technology that is worth a lot of money. Once we find an object, people will see the potential. And then there will be a kind of gold rush to track down these objects from space, from which we learn about technologies that we do not yet have. “
Photographing the objects and taking samples is considered more promising by the astronomer than looking for radio signals, for example. “Listening to radio signals from distant civilizations that are no longer alive is like trying to make phone calls to cultures that no longer exist on earth,” he explains. There was more to be learned about these civilizations by studying the remains they left behind. In his opinion, however, not enough money is being invested in this kind of research today. (ial) * fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.
