The Alien Spaceship That Wasn’t

The idea of something hurling itself through space towards our lovely planet is a little terrifying to think about. Initially seen in October 2017 by Pan-Starrs, a group of telescopes in Maui, Hawaii, a mysterious rock was spotted whizzing past Earth and due to its unusual shape and odd trajectory, people were extremely curious. The asteroid was named Oumuamua which is a Hawaiian word, meaning “messenger from afar”. It didn’t take long for the science fiction lovers to start theorizing that, perhaps, this mysterious asteroid was a vehicle for aliens, rather than just a large hunk of space junk.

Immediately glomming on to these theories, the media went crazy. Their news lead-ins all touted information about the possible existence of other beings. On November 23, 2017, the SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) Institute, a began a new project using their Allen Telescope Array. With this collection of satellite dishes used to detect different wavelengths, they began scanning the asteroid listening for potential chatter. Over sixty hours was spent on this project, with an additional ten hours being spent using a large antenna in West Virginia.

Not an Alien Spaceship

Were we looking at an alien spacecraft or was the media just finding some new way to rope us in? Either way, it started a conversation. People instantly became both excited and concerned that we could be fodder for alien research. Part of the reason for the mystery surrounding this particular asteroid is due to its oddly cylindrical shape. Rather than being shaped like a round mass of space rock, the Oumuamua is cigar-shaped. The trajectory is also a bit different than the typical asteroid as it isn’t orbiting as usual. However, the most interesting part about the Oumuamua is that it appears to have come from a different realm, altogether.

This is the first time an asteroid of this type has been seen. Although it was initially mistaken for a comet, Oumuamua is thought to have been ejected from another star systems, thus accounting for it’s odd trajectory and proximity to the sun. Through vast scientific research, it’s been determined that the object came from a hot and high mass star system. According to this research, there is little reason to be alarmed by the presence of this object, as it does appear to be similar to other objects of its kind, which are present in our solar system, but they also said that it potentially had a very violent trajectory.

While it is not unusual for the American people and science fiction fanatics to fear the unfamiliar, especially in the great unknown that is space. However, Oumuamua is nothing to be afraid of. The research being done suggests that it is not a danger to us, and it certainly isn’t an alien spaceship. While many have no doubt about the presence of alternative life forms, this object shows no signs of life and no transmissions have been heard. Of course, this asteroid is still big news for the scientific community and therefore, us. This is the first object of its kind to be detected this close to Earth, and while it isn’t as big as news of aliens, it’s still kind of a big deal.