Link 1
Link 2
"Basically, Bialy and Loeb consider the possibility that 'Oumuamua could in fact be a light sail, a form of spacecraft that relies on radiation pressure to generate propulsion - similar to what Breakthrough Starshot is working on. Similar to what is planned for Starshot, this light sail may been sent from another civilization to study our solar system and look for signs of life. As Prof. Loeb explained."
Loeb further illustrated this idea in a recent article he penned for Scientific American, where he suggested that 'Oumuamua could be the first known case of an artificial relic which floated into our solar system from interstellar space. What's more, he notes that lightsails with similar dimensions have been designed and constructed by humans, including the Japanese-designed IKAROS project and the Starshot Initiative with which he is involved."
"On the other hand, as Loeb told Universe Today, 'Oumuamua could be an active piece of alien technology that came to explore our solar system, the same way we hope to explore Alpha Centauri using Starshot and similar technologies."
"Naturally, Bialy and Loeb acknowledge that are still too many unknowns to say with any certainty what 'Oumuamua really is. And even if it does happen to be a piece of natural rock, all other asteroids and comets that have previously been detected have had mass-to-area ratios orders of magnitude larger than the current estimates for 'Oumuamua."
Link 2
"Basically, Bialy and Loeb consider the possibility that 'Oumuamua could in fact be a light sail, a form of spacecraft that relies on radiation pressure to generate propulsion - similar to what Breakthrough Starshot is working on. Similar to what is planned for Starshot, this light sail may been sent from another civilization to study our solar system and look for signs of life. As Prof. Loeb explained."
Loeb further illustrated this idea in a recent article he penned for Scientific American, where he suggested that 'Oumuamua could be the first known case of an artificial relic which floated into our solar system from interstellar space. What's more, he notes that lightsails with similar dimensions have been designed and constructed by humans, including the Japanese-designed IKAROS project and the Starshot Initiative with which he is involved."
"On the other hand, as Loeb told Universe Today, 'Oumuamua could be an active piece of alien technology that came to explore our solar system, the same way we hope to explore Alpha Centauri using Starshot and similar technologies."
"Naturally, Bialy and Loeb acknowledge that are still too many unknowns to say with any certainty what 'Oumuamua really is. And even if it does happen to be a piece of natural rock, all other asteroids and comets that have previously been detected have had mass-to-area ratios orders of magnitude larger than the current estimates for 'Oumuamua."
