Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid • Hacker News Board

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#11

Post by pilsetnieks » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:13 AM UTC

sjclemmy wrote: post #3

I'm still convinced this is an alien probe. I mean look at that trajectory. 0.163 AU from Earth - what are the odds? The spinning is irrelevant surely - I mean, it's all relative, so as far as ’Oumuamua is concerned, we're spinning. Maybe it was spinning that way to stay aligned with a distant companion for communication.

If one were so inclined, they could argue that the spinning is in fact very relevant, as it would allow a static camera or other observation device a full 360° view along all axes.

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#12

Post by gmt2027 » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:22 AM UTC

sjclemmy wrote: post #3

I'm still convinced this is an alien probe. I mean look at that trajectory. 0.163 AU from Earth - what are the odds? The spinning is irrelevant surely - I mean, it's all relative, so as far as ’Oumuamua is concerned, we're spinning. Maybe it was spinning that way to stay aligned with a distant companion for communication.

If you're right about the spin for alignment, we should be looking into deep space in the direction of it's axis. Presumably, this direction is erratic but there may be orientations that dominate over time.

A tumbling probe that doubles as a cosmic pointer to home. Cool.

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#13

Post by _ph_ » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:24 AM UTC

newnewpdro wrote: post #9

It's too bad we're not ready to launch probes to visit and explore such transient objects at a moment's notice.

I think it would make sense to plan a probe mission where the probe would be put into storage to stand by for these kind of events. It would still be a challenge and might be impossible to find a launch window and reach the passing object in time, but it would be worth trying.

Just imagine how tragic it would be, if an ancient artifact of an alien civilization drifts by earth and we don't manage to have at least a look at it.

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#14

Post by kranner » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:30 AM UTC

xrayzerone wrote: post #4

I'll ask what everyone is thinking but won't say. If the acceleration is in fact being caused by artificial thrusters, what kind of thruster configuration can produce prograde acceleration while maintaining the observed tumble? And why would someone engineer this configuration?

> And why would someone engineer this configuration?

To make its being engineered seem implausible, surely.

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#15

Post by azernik » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:33 AM UTC

szilardboy wrote: post #7

sjclemmy wrote: post #3

I'm still convinced this is an alien probe. I mean look at that trajectory. 0.163 AU from Earth - what are the odds? The spinning is irrelevant surely - I mean, it's all relative, so as far as ’Oumuamua is concerned, we're spinning. Maybe it was spinning that way to stay aligned with a distant companion for communication.

What’s special about 0.163 AU? Does it have a mathematical significance?

Just that it's unusually close.

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#16

Post by lawlessone » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:38 AM UTC

interfixus wrote: post #8

sjclemmy wrote: post #3

I'm still convinced this is an alien probe. I mean look at that trajectory. 0.163 AU from Earth - what are the odds? The spinning is irrelevant surely - I mean, it's all relative, so as far as ’Oumuamua is concerned, we're spinning. Maybe it was spinning that way to stay aligned with a distant companion for communication.

Two more of them, and I'd say you have an excellent case.

They do everything in threes.

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#17

Post by p2detar » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:41 AM UTC

sjclemmy wrote: post #3

I'm still convinced this is an alien probe. I mean look at that trajectory. 0.163 AU from Earth - what are the odds? The spinning is irrelevant surely - I mean, it's all relative, so as far as ’Oumuamua is concerned, we're spinning. Maybe it was spinning that way to stay aligned with a distant companion for communication.

This has always fascinated me. We can actually build giant spaceships (space stations) inside asteroids and use them for interstellar travel. All the resources we need, including ice would be at our disposal. Like traveling with your own mini-planet.

Dirk Schulze had taken that as a subject into his sci-fiction book - Alien Encounter.

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#18

Post by DaveSapien » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:49 AM UTC

Would gravitational pull account for the acceleration? Meaning if it were made (or part of it) of some very dense element like Iridium, there would be an unexpected attraction to our sun?

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#19

Post by jobigoud » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:51 AM UTC

newnewpdro wrote: post #9

It's too bad we're not ready to launch probes to visit and explore such transient objects at a moment's notice.

Let's say it takes us another 50 years to fund and prepare a mission, could we still catch up with it?

Re: Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

#20

Post by jobigoud » Fri, Oct 12, 2018, 9:55 AM UTC

sjclemmy wrote: post #3

I'm still convinced this is an alien probe. I mean look at that trajectory. 0.163 AU from Earth - what are the odds? The spinning is irrelevant surely - I mean, it's all relative, so as far as ’Oumuamua is concerned, we're spinning. Maybe it was spinning that way to stay aligned with a distant companion for communication.

The odds we expect depend on our detection ability. Maybe there are thousands of these objects but we saw this one only because it passed so close to Earth.