This Weird Space Rock Is So Weird That Scientists Are Checking It For Aliens

Astronomers are about to use one of the world’s best telescopes to check out a weird-shaped object that recently hurtled past Earth, just in case it was sent by aliens. Y’know, just on the off chance.

That object is known as ‘Oumuamua, a Hawaiian word meaning “a messenger from afar arriving first”, and you might remember when it was first spotted in our solar system in October. It was pretty extraordinary then for a number of reasons, in particular because it’s the first space object we’ve identified as coming from another solar system.

It’s also really weird looking — long and thin instead of roundish and nuggety like the other stuff we typically see flying through space. And in the words of NASA, “it’s the highly-elongated shape that has scientists excited and perplexed”.

That shape is part of why it’s caught the attention of Breakthrough Listen, the peak scientific body searching for alien life. In case you (like me) had never heard of this before today, it’s totally a thing that exists — it began in January 2016 with $100 million in funding, and has been backed by Stephen Hawking, amongst other great scientific minds.

In a statement released yesterday, Breakthrough Listen announced that it will be turning its attention to ‘Oumuamua this week, using the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope to observe the interstellar object across a portion of the radio spectrum.

Basically, they’re trying to see if it’s transmitting anything — and because it’s currently much closer than other objects Breakthrough Listen has monitored, they’ll be able to quickly pick up even very small transmissions, if they exist.

me reading about scientists’ plans to find out whether interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua is actually an alien spaceship https://t.co/rMffWMZIVm pic.twitter.com/gXh9Fz4fyX

— jane c. hu (@jane_c_hu) December 11, 2017

“Researchers working on long-distance space transportation have previously suggested that a cigar or needle shape is the most likely architecture for an interstellar spacecraft, since this would minimize friction and damage from interstellar gas and dust,” Breakthrough Listen wrote yesterday.

“While a natural origin is more likely, there is currently no consensus on what that origin might have been, and Breakthrough Listen is well positioned to explore the possibility that ‘Oumuamua could be an artifact.”

The first period of telescope observation will start on Wednesday, and go for about ten hours. And hey, even if it doesn’t find evidence of alien life, it could still toss up some really interesting stuff. If you want to be across whatever happens, you can follow Breakthrough on Twitter or Facebook. You can read more about their interest in ‘Oumuamua on their website here.

NASA also have a great FAQ on ‘Oumuamua here, if you’re interested. Godspeed, nerds.

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Feature image: Artist’s impression of ‘Oumuamua, via European Southern Observatory/M. Kornmesser