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Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

scientificamerican.com

11–20 of 236 posts

Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

#11
post #10

If we put half the energy we use up arguing about Oumuamua into detecting more interstellar objects we would have the data to end this debate. I'm a fan of the pragmatic mathematical approach. This was the first thing detected. The chances that the first result is also any sort of outlier are very slim. Detect and track some more of these objects. I'd bet good money that Oumuamua's motion is very explainable once we…

> If we put half the energy we use up arguing about Oumuamua into detecting more interstellar objects we would have the data to end this debate This HN comment was just the motivation I needed to get off my computer and rededicate myself to polishing eighteen 1.32m gold-plated beryllium hexagonal mirror segments.

What is used, and how long does doing that take?

Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

#12

If we put half the energy we use up arguing about Oumuamua into detecting more interstellar objects we would have the data to end this debate. I'm a fan of the pragmatic mathematical approach. This was the first thing detected. The chances that the first result is also any sort of outlier are very slim. Detect and track some more of these objects. I'd bet good money that Oumuamua's motion is very explainable once we…

Just like we're the only form of life that we've observed in the universe. The chances that the first result is also any sort of outlier are very slim. That's why with the decades of effort and sophisticated tools that we've employed, we've been able to find and study lifeforms on so many other planets.

Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

#13
post #11
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If we put half the energy we use up arguing about Oumuamua into detecting more interstellar objects we would have the data to end this debate This HN comment was just the motivation I needed to get off my computer and rededicate myself to polishing eighteen 1.32m gold-plated beryllium hexagonal mirror segments.

What is used, and how long does doing that take?

I think it was sarcasm.

Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

#14
post #10

If we put half the energy we use up arguing about Oumuamua into detecting more interstellar objects we would have the data to end this debate. I'm a fan of the pragmatic mathematical approach. This was the first thing detected. The chances that the first result is also any sort of outlier are very slim. Detect and track some more of these objects. I'd bet good money that Oumuamua's motion is very explainable once we…

> If we put half the energy we use up arguing about Oumuamua into detecting more interstellar objects we would have the data to end this debate This HN comment was just the motivation I needed to get off my computer and rededicate myself to polishing eighteen 1.32m gold-plated beryllium hexagonal mirror segments.

You don't need the telescope. There is an effort to discover interstellar objects in old data, which is largely a matter of spotting faint objects and calculating thier orbits...ie coding.

Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

#16
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If we put half the energy we use up arguing about Oumuamua into detecting more interstellar objects we would have the data to end this debate This HN comment was just the motivation I needed to get off my computer and rededicate myself to polishing eighteen 1.32m gold-plated beryllium hexagonal mirror segments.

You don't need the telescope. There is an effort to discover interstellar objects in old data, which is largely a matter of spotting faint objects and calculating thier orbits...ie coding.

Can you link us to where we can contribute?

Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

#18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't need the telescope. There is an effort to discover interstellar objects in old data, which is largely a matter of spotting faint objects and calculating thier orbits...ie coding.

Can you link us to where we can contribute?

https://panstarrs.stsci.edu/

The data is there. Have at it.

Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

#19
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is used, and how long does doing that take?

I think it was sarcasm.

Still interesting what would be used to polish a gold plated beryllium mirror. For instance, looks like they clean it by spraying CO2 snow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide_cleaning
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