A few weeks ago, Abraham Loeb, a top astronomer at the Harvard University claimed that interstellar object Oumuamua could be actually an alien probe. Now, in a new study paper, Abraham Loeb along with his colleague Amir Siraj have suggested there could be many alien artefacts lurking inside the solar system.
As per the new study report, there could be tens of interstellar objects like Oumuamua lurking in the solar system, and the paper urged space agencies to visit these objects to unveil the mysteries surrounding extraterrestrial life.
"Observing or visiting such objects could allow searching for signs of extraterrestrial life locally, without the need to send interstellar probes. Exploration of trapped interstellar objects could potentially help reveal the prospects of life in other star systems as well as extraterrestrial artefacts," wrote the researchers, Metro.co.uk reports.
It should be noted that Loeb is not assuring the alien origin of these interstellar artefacts. As per Loeb, some of these artefacts could have been formed naturally before getting expelled from their star system, thus starting their unending journey through deep space.
Abraham Loeb's previous study about Oumuamua had racked up negative criticisms from various space experts. Loeb argued that the unexpected acceleration Oumuamua gained could be an indication that it might be of artificial origin.
However, top space experts dismissed the theory suggested by Loeb, and they made it clear that it is a phenomenon called outgassing which might have resulted in the unexpected acceleration.
Later, Seth Shostak, a top research fellow at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute revealed that interstellar visitor Oumuamua could just a millimetre thick, about as thick as 5 to 10 sheets of paper stacked together. The revelation from Shostak shocked space experts, as this is for the first time that they are encountering such an object.
In the meantime, conspiracy theorists started claiming that no natural formations could be this much less thick, and they argued that Oumuamua could be an alien spaceship from an unknown interstellar world.
