No spaceships in our solar system, just keep moving, nothing to see ...

[sholio]

I mean, rationally, I realize that the weirdo asteroid that observatories have been tracking for the last month or so is NOT A SPACESHIP.

Almost certainly.

But.

... it's just so spaceship-like. I mean:

• It's literally the first extrasolar object we have EVER detected, that is, the first comet/asteroid/etc that is known for certain (because of its trajectory) to have originated beyond the solar system.
• It's shaped like nothing else we've ever found. It is shaped, not to put too fine a point on it, like a spaceship. (That is, it's spindle-shaped -- much longer than it is wide. We've never found any other space rock shaped like that.)
• All we really know about its composition is that it's metallic or rocky, and, unusually for an object of its type, appears not to be icy.
• It slingshotted around our sun before heading out of the solar system ... like one might expect a spaceship to do (even if it's long since defunct and is just continuing on a course that was set long ago).

Wikipedia article | Article from Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy

Realistically I know that the odds are vanishingly, microscopically low that it's a spaceship and not some oddball natural space phenomenon we've never encountered before (since space is absolutely FULL of the latter). But. Still. It's such a weird/creepy/cool feeling to think that it actually could be?? It's not likely that we just had our first extraterrestrial encounter, but we can't prove that we didn't.

Comments

[st_aurafina]

I like this theory!

[sholio]

It's just so spaceshiplike! My rational mind keeps telling me that all the non-spaceship explanations are much more likely (because they ARE!), but the chance of "spaceship" is actually nonzero and that's so cool. :D

[liz_mo]

That was SO my first thought, too! And I agree 100%. REALLISTICALLY its a phenomenon we've not seen before BUT.... ;-D

[sholio]

I love that I am not the only one who thought of this RIGHT AWAY. :D It's just so wonderfully possible.

[darthneko]

I love this theory, and really, it's just very cool no matter which way you look at it.

[sholio]

I know!! There's just nothing that's not cool about that.

[musesfool]

Yeah, when I saw the pictures I was like, holy crap, that's a spaceship! *g*

[sholio]

I know! It's just so suspiciously spaceship-shaped. (Or as my husband points out, shaped like our conception of a spaceship, which surely is not universal, but STILL.)

[maplemood]

Logically, I know it probably isn't (and the paranoid half of me is glad that it probably isn't--I am not ready for an alien invasion), but still...who knows?

[sholio]

Ha, yeah, I know, me too - my rational, logical side knows it's not, but the spec-fic fan half of me is like "... BUT WHAT IF!" :D

[killabeez]

Thank you for sharing the article!

[sholio]

You're welcome! :)

[sheron]

Hee! :D

[sholio]

:DDD

[madripoor_rose]

Insert macro of Giorgio A. Tsoukalos going 'ALIENS!' from the History Channel Ancient Aliens show here. (really gotta find an alternative to photobucket)


What gets me is how much this sounds like the first chapter of a sci fi novel.

Even if, and more likely, not, our first extrasolar object is still fairly freaking cool.

[lannamichaels]

What gets me is how much this sounds like the first chapter of a sci fi novel.

Yes! It's so atmospheric. "An old, derelict spaceship, rotating end to end, enters a star system that has never been contacted before". WOULD READ :D

[madripoor_rose]

Or 'the object entering the solar system does somewhat resemble an alien space ship, but self important scientists condescendingly explain why this cannot possibly be an alien spaceship'.....the lizardpeople invasion begins/alien prince in exile beams down to Cleveland OH, our Main Character is abducted by Greys....and so on the plot of every cheesy novel or Saturday Syfy movie ever made.....

[conuly]

I'll break out the popcorn.

[saphirablue]

Hehe, I love this!

Also, imagine the Aliens before entering the Solar system:

Holy shit. There is life on the third planet on the sun. They have sattelites but are not yet space faring! Observe protocol 2 Beta 3 immediately. Cut all the power output and engines stat! Complete communication silence!

XD

Sorry!

[trobadora]

"First interstellar object" is amazing enough! But yeah, I'll admit I had that thought too. SPACESHIPS!!!! *g*

[alatefeline]

:)

[lunabee34]

I love the way you think. Lol

[lynnenne]

It would be really cool if it were a Voyager-like probe travelling through interstellar space after exploring the far reaches of its own solar system. Maybe it has a golden record!

[saphirablue]

Oh, that would be very cool!

[thawrecka]

I'm still going to choose to believe it's a spaceship. Nobody can stop me!

[yalumesse]

It's not a boring chunk of rock until they can PROVE it's nothing but a boring chunk of rock! ;)

[naye]

Ommmg IKR! I think a lot of us speculative fiction fans are staring at those artist's impression images thinking it could just as well have been on the cover of a piece of science fiction. Also if there was a space ship I'm 100% certain that until the very moment they started hovering over our heads/turning up at the UN NASA and others would insist THERE ARE NO SPACE SHIPS. Because of course they would...

[naye]

Oh and the post under yours in my feed?
https://xkcd-feed.dreamwidth.org/356879.html (sorry, on phone)

[sholio]

hahaha. APPROPRIATE! :D

... and yeah, I expect nerds worldwide let out a collective gasp. Orion and I certainly had the same thought independently.

I guess it's a good thing you got out of the UK, since obviously if it IS a spaceship, we all know there are only two places where it's going to land: New York or London at Christmastime. XD

[brigdh]

This is so cool! I'd seen a couple of headlines about the asteroid/whatever it is, but I'd been skipping the articles because I'd idly thought it was another crackpot theory, like that guy who said the world was going to end last month due to an invisible planet. I hadn't realized this was a real, scientific thing!

Ah, I'm so glad you posted this, because I would have hated to miss it!