Earlier quoted context omitted.
You forgot about the aliens.
You have failed to account for the fact that we live in a simulation.
Or, we're just a projection in a dream of the all-pervading cosmic consciousness.
Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
91–100 of 236 posts
Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which forces the logical conclusion that this isn't the first such probe, obviously.
That could only be true if they are intentionally hiding from us, rather than replicating and harvesting the solar system as fast as they can. But personally I have a hard time believing that hyper-intelligent devices would care about avoiding detection by lowly biological organisms like us.
[deleted]
Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#93My pet theory (which is not intended to be taken too seriously) is that it is indeed a discarded light sail, and that light sail in particular was used to transport a Von Neumann probe which detached at some point after the object entered our solar system but before we first observed it. This detachment, in addition to leaving the sail tumbling, would have changed its trajectory, meaning our estimation of which direc…
Speaking of pet theories, here is mine: There exists a sentry system of interstellar buoys that get sucked into star systems passing by. Perhaps with a solar sail, so they can control a bit which stars they want to take a closer look at. Our solar system become "recently" a candidate for obvious reasons. The probe made its analysis and plotted a fast escape, sending a tight laser beam to the next closest relay statio…
Or, in other words, the main plot line in the Inhibitor trilogy within the Revelation Space series by acclaimed sci-fi author and astrophysicist Alastair Reynolds.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/56392-revelation-space
Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#94My pet theory (which is not intended to be taken too seriously) is that it is indeed a discarded light sail, and that light sail in particular was used to transport a Von Neumann probe which detached at some point after the object entered our solar system but before we first observed it. This detachment, in addition to leaving the sail tumbling, would have changed its trajectory, meaning our estimation of which direc…
Mercury provides solar power but you need a lot more energy to get from there to earth. The asteroid belt still provides adequate solar power with I'd guess an easier ability to 'fall on the earth'. It wasn't clear whether the goal of your invader was destruction or takeover. Falling rocks would do the destruction job.
The point is obviously more probes. I think a sufficient gravity field and planetary mass is going to let you work a lot faster. Robotic probes with basically no atmosphere to get through means you can use kinetic cannons to get off-world.
Your initial "factory line" would be a mostly underground equatorial band on Mercury.
Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#95Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
>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 understand - is it unexpected that the person forming an argument for the alien hypothesis has written a book about it? That's not usually what people…
It seems obvious to me that if one intends to make money from a theory it is in their best interest to champion said theory even in the face of conflicting research and alternate explanations.
The profession of research scientist is the profession of making money from theories.
Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#97Can't we build a probe that can reach it? What's the fastest we can launch a ton of equipment in Oumuamua's direction?
No, it's long gone.
Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#98This 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…
> We can expect actual aliens, ones who evolved in a different ecosystem, would have no opinion about what we do. Not from our value system anyway. Less "these poor hooman creatures actually kill each other, how primitive!" and more ... well, something more incomprehensible to us
TVTropes has a whole section called "Blue-and-Orange Morality" for this: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlueAndOrangeMor...
Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#99Earlier 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
Be very careful grinding, polishing or otherwise ablating any alloy that contains beryllium. Berylliosis (no matter if acute or cronic) is no joke.
Re: Mystery of interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua gets trickier
#100This 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…
I don't think that's true. I could conceive of an alien "prime directive" like in Star Trek. So saying that it's out of the question is definitely not something that I believe. Humans, after all, are constantly observing other species. Why wouldn't aliens?