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We have visitors?
Post by TFLYTSNBN   » Tue Feb 05, 2019 1:06 pm

TFLYTSNBN

Interesting speculations on an extrasolar object. It was accellerating as it pulled away from the sun at a rate consistant with a lightsail.

https://www.centauri-dreams.org/2018/10 ... ightsails/
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Re: We have visitors?
Post by Michael Everett   » Tue Feb 05, 2019 2:12 pm

Michael Everett
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Interesting.
Wikipedia has its own article just here, so I accept that the basic facts (it exists and has gone past the sun) are true.
I remember it hitting the news due to its unusual cigar-shape which confused some astronomers as asteroids are more likely to be rounded as a side-effect of how they are formed.

The lightsail/tech remnant thing, however, is pure speculation worthy of Ron Hubbard (He who created a fake religion for tax-avoidance. Seriously, the IRS were setting up an investigation when he passed away).
~~~~~~

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Re: We have visitors?
Post by Imaginos1892   » Tue Feb 05, 2019 9:28 pm

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Michael Everett wrote:The lightsail/tech remnant thing, however, is pure speculation worthy of Ron Hubbard (He who created a fake religion for tax-avoidance. Seriously, the IRS were setting up an investigation when he passed away).

I heard L Ron started it as a joke. An object lesson in how people will say, do, and believe the most idiotic things if you feed them the right bullshit.

Then it took off. He had complete power over thousands of followers, and it went to his head. I'm not sure if he wound up actually believing his own bullshit, but he did a lot of damage to a lot of lives.

I've run into a few of them, trying to get people to join, and they give me the most incredibly dirty looks when I tell 'em, "You do know it's all a joke, right?"
———————————
Dayna: “Don’t you ever get tired of being right all the time?”
Avon: “No, I get tired of other people being wrong.”
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Re: We have visitors?
Post by Dilandu   » Wed Feb 06, 2019 6:27 am

Dilandu
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Michael Everett wrote:Interesting.
Wikipedia has its own article just here, so I accept that the basic facts (it exists and has gone past the sun) are true.
I remember it hitting the news due to its unusual cigar-shape which confused some astronomers as asteroids are more likely to be rounded as a side-effect of how they are formed.


The most probable explanation is that Oumuamua was shaped by dust erosion, during her interstellar flight. It's also tumbling, which did not correspond well with the idea of solar-sail propelled object; the sail would be crumpled.
------------------------------

Oh well, if shortening the front is what the Germans crave,
Let's shorten it to very end - the length of Fuhrer's grave.

(Red Army lyrics from 1945)
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Re: We have visitors?
Post by TFLYTSNBN   » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:52 pm

TFLYTSNBN

Dilandu wrote:
Michael Everett wrote:Interesting.
Wikipedia has its own article just here, so I accept that the basic facts (it exists and has gone past the sun) are true.
I remember it hitting the news due to its unusual cigar-shape which confused some astronomers as asteroids are more likely to be rounded as a side-effect of how they are formed.


The most probable explanation is that Oumuamua was shaped by dust erosion, during her interstellar flight. It's also tumbling, which did not correspond well with the idea of solar-sail propelled object; the sail would be crumpled.



If you follow the link to the actual scientific paper you will find that the authors calculated erosion and decelleration rates from collisions with gas and dust for a presumptive lightsail. If this thing is s lightsail, it could have traveled 1,000s of Parsecs. An actual asteroid could travel BILLIONS of Parsecs without suffering significant erosion.

The tumbling is somewhat speculative based on variable brightness. There are other potential explainations. Some mechanism that steers a lightsail by varying albedo would explain the variability. Assuming that this is a probe with optical, IR and Microwave interferometers incorporated into the sail, an intentional tumble would enable it to fully scan the solar system. A lightsail that is tumbling out of control because the pilot is dead is plausible to.
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Re: We have visitors?
Post by TFLYTSNBN   » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:55 pm

TFLYTSNBN

We have been probed!
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Re: We have visitors?
Post by TFLYTSNBN   » Thu Feb 07, 2019 5:14 pm

TFLYTSNBN

Just went out to man mancave (where I bitterly cling to my guns and my religion) to retrieve my copy of Arthur C Clarke's ASCENT TO ORBIT. Included is a brief article on AN OPTIMAL STRATEGY FOR INTERSTELLAR ROBOT PROBES. Clarke makes an excellent case for probes that are boosted to an intersrellar cruise velocity of about 500 kilometers per second. This would enable major trajectory changes with minimal Delta Vee using a solar sail. Interstellar transit times would be about 3,000 years.

This is earily consistant with this object.
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Re: We have visitors?
Post by RosemarieLadson   » Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:28 am

RosemarieLadson
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Well, it seems, there are a lot of visitors here...
Image
Last edited by RosemarieLadson on Wed Feb 10, 2021 5:24 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: We have visitors?
Post by TFLYTSNBN   » Tue Jun 11, 2019 4:05 pm

TFLYTSNBN

RosemarieLadson wrote:Well, it seems, there are a lot of visitors here...



Wellcome.

I am the resident curmudeon.
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Re: We have visitors?
Post by doug941   » Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:59 am

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RosemarieLadson wrote:Well, it seems, there are a lot of visitors here...


If the Visitors are here, keep a watch on our water, make sure they are not reptiles and always remember "You sure don't look like an iguana."
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