Are scientists ignoring the truth about aliens? A mysterious object from outside our solar system has puzzled experts. One astronomer thinks we should be more curious about it.
X
Next
Solar system may be ‘teeming with alien tech’
Are scientists ignoring the truth about aliens? A mysterious object from outside our solar system has puzzled experts. One astronomer thinks we should be more curious about it.
X
PreviousNext
What's happening?
In 2017, astronomers spotted a strange object in the sky. It was a giant flat object the size of a football pitch. And it was travelling at 20,000 metres per second.
They studied it more. Soon, they announced something amazing. It was from outside our Solar SystemThe Sun and the objects whose movement it controls.. They named it OumuamuaThe asteroid was given a Hawaiian name because it was spotted by a telescope on Hawaii..
Oumuamua is a HawaiianHawaii is the only US state that is made up of islands. It is in the Pacific Ocean. The first settlers of Hawaii came from a place called Hawaiki. word. It means "first scoutA person who is sent out ahead of a group to find out more about a new place. from a distant place".
Experts agreed it was the first thing ever discovered that they could prove came from outside our solar system. But apart from that, they didn't know much about it.
Find out more
They knew it was big. It was 400m wide. They knew it was going fast. But the rest was a mystery.
Some people thought it was no normal asteroidA small body in space, made of metal and rock material. Asteroids usually orbit the sun, but if knocked off course they can be drawn into Earth's gravity and fall towards it. . They thought it could have been sent by aliens.
One person who believed it was there for a reason was a scientist called Avi Loeb. But not many people agreed with him. At work, one other scientist said he wished Oumuamua did not exist at all.
X
Previous
Are scientists ignoring the truth about aliens?
Yes! Avi Loeb is right. We should not ignore things just because we do not understand them. We should be excited that aliens might be out there.
No! Oumuamua is still a mystery. But that does not mean aliens sent it. It is most likely just what it looks like: a big rock from outer space. We should be more realistic!
Keywords
Solar System - The Sun and the objects whose movement it controls.
Oumuamua - The asteroid was given a Hawaiian name because it was spotted by a telescope on Hawaii.
Hawaiian - Hawaii is the only US state that is made up of islands. It is in the Pacific Ocean. The first settlers of Hawaii came from a place called Hawaiki.
Scout - A person who is sent out ahead of a group to find out more about a new place.
Asteroid - A small body in space, made of metal and rock material. Asteroids usually orbit the sun, but if knocked off course they can be drawn into Earth's gravity and fall towards it.
Solar system may be ‘teeming with alien tech’
Glossary
Solar System - The Sun and the objects whose movement it controls.
Oumuamua - The asteroid was given a Hawaiian name because it was spotted by a telescope on Hawaii.
Hawaiian - Hawaii is the only US state that is made up of islands. It is in the Pacific Ocean. The first settlers of Hawaii came from a place called Hawaiki.
Scout - A person who is sent out ahead of a group to find out more about a new place.
Asteroid - A small body in space, made of metal and rock material. Asteroids usually orbit the sun, but if knocked off course they can be drawn into Earth’s gravity and fall towards it.