Re:A Harvard Astronomer on the Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua
by slg on Wednesday January 16, 2019 @02:43PM
(#18924282)
Wouldn't a disabled probe present a statistical problem? A disabled probe likely means we weren't the intended target of the probe. Considering how quickly we found this thing after we have acquired the ability to find them it either means we are incredibly lucky and we just happened to see an extremely rare event, the probe was targeted towards our solar system, or interstellar space is full of these probes making them incredibly common sights. If you can statistically rule out the first explanation and a disabled probe rules out the second, what is left besides that third option which is inherently much harder to believe?
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Re:A Harvard Astronomer on the Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua
by jandrese on Wednesday January 16, 2019 @02:59PM
(#18924444)
If this work the work of an alien intelligence it seems unlikely that it wouldn't have been targeted at our solar system. Space is so vast that accidentally running into a solar system other than then one you intended is stupefyingly unlikely, especially at the speeds this object was traveling.
Another interesting point is that if it is an alien probe it would have had to been sent long before human civilization began unless the aliens are parked practically on our doorstop.
Re:A Harvard Astronomer on the Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua
by blotter_paper on Wednesday January 16, 2019 @03:00PM
(#18924458)
I'm not arguing that this is an alien probe, but I don't think being disabled rules out the possibility of the flyby being intended. We don't know exactly how long our probes will last, that depends on radiation and other factors. The trajectory could have been plotted to keep slingshotting around different stars long after the expected lifespan of the probe had elapsed, just in case it lasted longer than that.