Published paper can be found here.

Post by Avi Loeb on his blog.

  • HM05M
    link
    English
    121 year ago

    It’s definitely cool. Regardless if this expedition results in any signs of extraterrestrial technologies, it’s still a unique research opportunity.

    • @SignullGoneOPM
      link
      English
      81 year ago

      Yes, I agree. I believe they have a good idea of where a larger piece of material is located, and they are planning another expedition to determine whether this object is artificially made or not.

      • @SpaceNoodle
        link
        English
        131 year ago

        Likely just molten bits of meteor that cooled into spheres when they hit the ocean. Drip some melted solder into a glass of water and you’ll see what I mean.

        • @grabyourmotherskeys
          link
          English
          61 year ago

          Avi Loeb certainly agrees with you and explained it in the linked Medium post and in earlier posts he made during the expedition. The spherules distributed over a wide area. By observing patterns in where they are most densely distributed, they can infer the likely path of the object.

          Let’s be real, it’s probably a chunk of rock. But even if that’s all it is, it’s a chunk of rock from outside our solar system. That’s wild.

          Say it’s not just a chunk of rock. Say it has sings of manufacture or symbols of some kind. Now we’re getting into the realm of “we’re not alone”. That’s highly unlikely but still a possible outcome.

          I reality, this is a massive find and a tremendous accomplishment in the face of endless naysayers who told him the object was mundane and could not be from outside our solar system. Get ready for Loeb going on an epic ego trip victory lap. :)

          • @SpaceNoodle
            link
            English
            61 year ago

            Seems bizarre to discount the possibility of the material being extraterrestrial. Space rocks collide with our atmosphere dozens of times each day. It would be weirder to see this sort of residue from some earthbound process.

            • @grabyourmotherskeys
              link
              English
              31 year ago

              I think that people were reluctant to believe it was from outside our solar system. That is unusual.

              Loeb and others have determined there are likely many objects passing through our system at any given time but the odds of any one of them impacting the earth is fairly low.

              The opportunity to study these materials directly is pretty amazing.

              The scientific establishment is also really freaked out about his theory that oumuamua (not sure I spelled that correctly) might possibly be a piece a instellar space junk. If that were true it would be incredible. I think that people are worried that if he turns out to be right about this object, it will lend his hypothesis about the other object more credence.

              • @SpaceNoodle
                link
                English
                41 year ago

                The idea that it’s an artificially manufactured item with extrasolar origins is in a totally different galaxy.

                  • @SignullGoneOPM
                    link
                    English
                    21 year ago

                    I understand and feel a similar sentiment. However, I think it’s important to also accept that we as a species have a pretty large hubris. Sometimes, we think we know more than we actually do. In reality, in the time scale of the cosmos we are infants just learning to crawl and discover the universe around us. So, what might seem improbable might not be, given that we’ve only just started observing.

        • @SignullGoneOPM
          link
          English
          31 year ago

          Probably so. I’m hoping they are able to find a larger piece to confirm. It’s an exciting discovery nonetheless that this object originated outside of our solar system.