Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier

Post by atomi » Sat, Aug 22, 2020, 4:52 PM UTC

rendall wrote: post #28

bluedays wrote: post #2

This is pretty cool. I am constantly looking at current events and thinking to myself "what if aliens were watching this?". I feel like it sorta puts things in perspective for me. Seeing that this might be a possibility is sorta thrilling.

"what if aliens were watching this?" There is an archetype of the Mysterious Stranger, an innocent, naive observer of our culture, who finds us incomprehensible because we are Just Terrible. We make war, pollute, enslave, etc, while this archetype is pure. Examples: K-Pax, Powder, Dostoyevski's The Idiot, Crocodile Dundee all have elements of this archetype The thing is, the only reason this archetype has any meaning…

Post by ddingus » Sat, Aug 22, 2020, 4:54 PM UTC

duck2 wrote: post #19

AlexCoventry wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Post by eeegnu » Sat, Aug 22, 2020, 4:55 PM UTC

zaroth wrote: post #9

_aky4 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Further we look into the void, further we see how vast it is in length of time and breadth of space. And in that void we're a tiny speck of dust on an already tiny speck of dust. For me, looking at zoomable deep space telescope imagery, it's a 50/50 proposition, either we have the only miracle of life in existence, or it's prolific. Deepest visible light image of 10,000 galaxies - https://www.spacetelescope.org/image…

The incomprehensible vastness in terms both time and space, combined with our own flittering existence, mean that even a universe utterly teeming with life would never see two advanced civilizations actually cross paths.

Post by cpuguy83 » Sat, Aug 22, 2020, 5:04 PM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #35

ekimekim wrote: post #23

> Asked if there is a clear leading candidate explanation for 'Oumuamua's acceleration, Loeb referred Live Science to a not-yet-released book he authored called "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth," due for publication in January. I don't know enough about the science to have an informed opinion, but it seems to me that if the main skeptic is also selling a book based in their exciting…

First sign? The first was probably the irrigation canals spotted on mars. Then repeating radio signals. The face on mars. Tabby's star. Each had their day as the first sign . The first real detection won't be some slight variance that we debate for years but solid evidence. If Oumuamua was a triangle, that would be solid evidence. It isn't aliens until it is.

Post by hossbeast » Sat, Aug 22, 2020, 5:08 PM UTC

davrosthedalek wrote: post #41

xyzzyz wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With this approach, you’d be skeptical too if Charles Darwin was also selling a book with his exciting alternate theory on the origin of species.

Yes, if Charles Darwin would publish a book today, with a focus on a layman reader, and then give interviews, instead of publishing his findings in journals, I would be skeptical.