Oumuamua

Message boards : SETI@home Science : Oumuamua
Message board moderation

To post messages, you must log in.

Previous · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 . . . 9 · Next

AuthorMessage
Profile Gordon Lowe
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 5 Nov 00
Posts: 12094
Credit: 6,317,865
RAC: 0
United States
Message 1907118 - Posted: 15 Dec 2017, 1:11:22 UTC - in response to Message 1907068.  

This asteroid, or whatever it is, is certainly interesting. In general, my feelings about ET are that I'm realistically pessimistic, but cautiously optimistic about finding them someday.
The mind is a weird and mysterious place
ID: 1907118 · Report as offensive
Profile Advent42
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 23 Mar 17
Posts: 175
Credit: 4,015,683
RAC: 0
Ireland
Message 1907199 - Posted: 15 Dec 2017, 8:21:28 UTC - in response to Message 1907118.  

Early data back (90 TB) indicates no radio signals....So far going to plan...:-)
ID: 1907199 · Report as offensive
Profile Lynn Special Project $75 donor
Volunteer tester
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 20 Nov 00
Posts: 14162
Credit: 79,603,650
RAC: 123
United States
Message 1907906 - Posted: 18 Dec 2017, 20:19:59 UTC - in response to Message 1907199.  

Just one of the many articles up for now.

The first known interstellar asteroid may hold water from another star system in its interior, according to a study.

Discovered on 19 October, the object's speed and trajectory strongly suggested it originated beyond our Solar System.

The body showed no signs of "outgassing" as it approached the Sun, strengthening the idea that it held little if any water-ice.

But the latest findings suggest water might be trapped under a thick, carbon-rich coating on its surface.

The results come as a project to search for life in the cosmos has been using a radio telescope to check for radio signals coming from the strange, elongated object, named 'Oumuamua.

Astronomers from the Breakthrough Listen initiative have been looking across four different radio frequency bands for anything that might resemble an artificial signal resulting from alien technology.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-42397398
ID: 1907906 · Report as offensive
Michael Watson

Send message
Joined: 7 Feb 08
Posts: 1387
Credit: 2,098,506
RAC: 5
Message 1907927 - Posted: 18 Dec 2017, 22:01:58 UTC
Last modified: 18 Dec 2017, 22:03:29 UTC

Breakthrough Listen has reported some 'intermittent candidates' from Oumuamua -- less than constant signals, which require further analysis. The could be Earth-based interference, of course, but this is not known to be the case.

Interestingly, the SETI Institute has also apparently encountered some intermittent signals. I watched last evening, as the Allen Telescope Array was turned away from Oumuamua, and the signal lost. When the aim at the object was restored, the signal reportedly came back. They progressed to 'off-4 status' which means that this process was repeated 4 times.

This aiming/de-aiming, on-off cycling is a prime method of determining if a candidate signal is from the object being observed, or is caused by Earth-based interference.
ID: 1907927 · Report as offensive
Profile Bob DeWoody
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 9 May 10
Posts: 3387
Credit: 4,182,900
RAC: 10
United States
Message 1907990 - Posted: 19 Dec 2017, 5:57:37 UTC

No matter what they may find it is way too late to do anything about it now as it speeds out of our solar system.
Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
ID: 1907990 · Report as offensive
Profile Bob DeWoody
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 9 May 10
Posts: 3387
Credit: 4,182,900
RAC: 10
United States
Message 1908011 - Posted: 19 Dec 2017, 7:51:03 UTC

This series of events tends to remind me of Arthur C. Clarkes "Rendesvoux with Rama".
Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
ID: 1908011 · Report as offensive
Profile Lynn Special Project $75 donor
Volunteer tester
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 20 Nov 00
Posts: 14162
Credit: 79,603,650
RAC: 123
United States
Message 1908112 - Posted: 20 Dec 2017, 7:58:25 UTC - in response to Message 1908025.  

If it is a comet, strange looking, not from this solar system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CA%BBOumuamua
From Wikipedia

I wish they would show a real picture, and not an artist rendition
ID: 1908112 · Report as offensive
moomin
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 21 Oct 17
Posts: 6204
Credit: 38,420
RAC: 0
Sweden
Message 1908127 - Posted: 20 Dec 2017, 10:53:32 UTC - in response to Message 1908112.  

If it is a comet, strange looking, not from this solar system.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CA%BBOumuamua
From Wikipedia

I wish they would show a real picture, and not an artist rendition


1IP/’Ououaoua, also known as 1I/2017 U1, was spotted whizzing through the solar system in images taken with the WIYN telescope. The faint streaks are background stars. In these images U1 is about 10 million times fainter than the faintest stars visible with the naked eye.
ID: 1908127 · Report as offensive
Profile Jord
Volunteer tester
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 9 Jun 99
Posts: 15184
Credit: 4,362,181
RAC: 3
Netherlands
Message 1908175 - Posted: 20 Dec 2017, 19:27:27 UTC

ID: 1908175 · Report as offensive
Profile Erich Habich-Traut
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 16 May 99
Posts: 5
Credit: 980,881
RAC: 0
Germany
Message 1908599 - Posted: 23 Dec 2017, 12:08:11 UTC - in response to Message 1907927.  

Hello Michael, I asked Seth Shostak if he could corroborate your story that two independent radio observatories detected intermittent signals from Oumuamua. What is the nature of those intermittent signals?

How do you know this about this?
Do you work there?
ID: 1908599 · Report as offensive
Michael Watson

Send message
Joined: 7 Feb 08
Posts: 1387
Credit: 2,098,506
RAC: 5
Message 1908613 - Posted: 23 Dec 2017, 15:49:30 UTC
Last modified: 23 Dec 2017, 16:28:11 UTC

Intermittent candidate signals were mentioned in several journalistic accounts, quoting a remark from a spokesman for Breakthrough Listen. Please find a link to one of these articles, below:

https://gizmodo.com/preliminary-scan-suggests-this-interstellar-visitor-is-1821305279

I watched, on the setiquest.info website, as intermittent signals were received in 'real-time', at the SETI Institute's Allen Telescope Array, as it was monitoring Oumuamua. It was later suggested that these were probably due to terrestrial interference.
ID: 1908613 · Report as offensive
Profile Erich Habich-Traut
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 16 May 99
Posts: 5
Credit: 980,881
RAC: 0
Germany
Message 1908630 - Posted: 23 Dec 2017, 18:04:04 UTC - in response to Message 1908613.  
Last modified: 23 Dec 2017, 18:16:35 UTC

Thank you Michael,
I had gathered from your post that they had repositioned the radio telescope four times,
to exclude the possibility of terrestrial interference (to exclude false positives).

The power of the intermittent signals doesn't exceed the power of an Iphone, it says in the article
(https://gizmodo.com/preliminary-scan-suggests-this-interstellar-visitor-is-1821305279).
That indeed doesn't appear to be a strong signal.

Point One:
One could say that any signal Oumuamua is emitting doesn't appear to be directed at Earth.
We'd be receiving 'weak stray signals' if Oumuamua directed a radio beam at a different target.

This is hypothetical.

However, the weakness of the signal does not exclude the possibility of artificial extraterrestrial origin,
because of Point One.

Unless anything intelligent is deciphered from the 'weak intermittent signal' of Oumuamua, it is most likely of a natural origin.

On the other hand, if any signals from Oumuamua were artificial (low probability), then the constructors of the transmitter don't want to speak to us.

We'll need to wait for the results.
ID: 1908630 · Report as offensive
Michael Watson

Send message
Joined: 7 Feb 08
Posts: 1387
Credit: 2,098,506
RAC: 5
Message 1908637 - Posted: 23 Dec 2017, 18:28:43 UTC
Last modified: 23 Dec 2017, 18:36:31 UTC

Oumuamua came from out of the void of space, yet managed to pass much closer to Earth, than to any other sizable body in our solar system. It had to arrive at just the right time, and from the correct direction, to swing around the Sun and flash by Earth as it departed. Perhaps Oumuamua didn't send us a radio message, but it may still, in a sense, have spoken to us.
ID: 1908637 · Report as offensive
Profile Bob DeWoody
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 9 May 10
Posts: 3387
Credit: 4,182,900
RAC: 10
United States
Message 1908739 - Posted: 24 Dec 2017, 3:27:27 UTC - in response to Message 1908637.  

Oumuamua came from out of the void of space, yet managed to pass much closer to Earth, than to any other sizable body in our solar system. It had to arrive at just the right time, and from the correct direction, to swing around the Sun and flash by Earth as it departed. Perhaps Oumuamua didn't send us a radio message, but it may still, in a sense, have spoken to us.

We will most likely never know.
Bob DeWoody

My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
ID: 1908739 · Report as offensive
Profile Wiggo
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 24 Jan 00
Posts: 36782
Credit: 261,360,520
RAC: 489
Australia
Message 1909142 - Posted: 27 Dec 2017, 7:35:23 UTC
Last modified: 27 Dec 2017, 7:36:03 UTC

Oumuamua GBT files have been loaded for splitting.

Coming soon to a PC near you.

Cheers.
ID: 1909142 · Report as offensive
Profile Stargate (SA)
Volunteer tester
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 4 Mar 10
Posts: 1854
Credit: 2,258,721
RAC: 0
Australia
Message 1909143 - Posted: 27 Dec 2017, 8:19:25 UTC - in response to Message 1909142.  

Bet there playing AC-DC
ID: 1909143 · Report as offensive
Profile tullio
Volunteer tester

Send message
Joined: 9 Apr 04
Posts: 8797
Credit: 2,930,782
RAC: 1
Italy
Message 1909276 - Posted: 28 Dec 2017, 15:32:29 UTC - in response to Message 1909252.  
Last modified: 28 Dec 2017, 15:33:38 UTC

How do you identify them?
Tullio
ID: 1909276 · Report as offensive
Patrick F. Burke
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 27 May 99
Posts: 12
Credit: 1,710,936
RAC: 0
United States
Message 1909285 - Posted: 28 Dec 2017, 16:21:28 UTC
Last modified: 28 Dec 2017, 16:27:04 UTC

Given it's proximity to Earth, a weak signal most likely indicates RF from Earth simply bouncing off the object. If it were an extraterrestrial probe, the RF signal strength at this distance would be large and immediately unmistakable. It's just a rock... but an incredibly interesting one.

We should have a sample return mission on stand-by, so the next time we can get a sample. It's probably our only opportunity to get a sample from outside our solar system.
ID: 1909285 · Report as offensive
Michael Watson

Send message
Joined: 7 Feb 08
Posts: 1387
Credit: 2,098,506
RAC: 5
Message 1909445 - Posted: 29 Dec 2017, 15:49:39 UTC - in response to Message 1909285.  

Given it's proximity to Earth, a weak signal most likely indicates RF from Earth simply bouncing off the object. If it were an extraterrestrial probe, the RF signal strength at this distance would be large and immediately unmistakable. It's just a rock... but an incredibly interesting one.

We should have a sample return mission on stand-by, so the next time we can get a sample. It's probably our only opportunity to get a sample from outside our solar system.


It's not really clear what sort of radio frequency emissions an extraterrestrial vessel would give off. We know nothing of the technology involved, after all, nor the motives of the intelligence behind it. Even if signals directed at us are ruled out, there is still the possibility of low power radio frequency leakage. This might still be detectable by our better radio telescopes.
ID: 1909445 · Report as offensive
Profile Lynn Special Project $75 donor
Volunteer tester
Avatar

Send message
Joined: 20 Nov 00
Posts: 14162
Credit: 79,603,650
RAC: 123
United States
Message 1918338 - Posted: 11 Feb 2018, 21:20:20 UTC - in response to Message 1909445.  

BBC has a program tonight

The Sky At NightT programme, The Mystery of 'Oumuamua, is broadcast on BBC Four on Sunday at 22:00 GMT, after which it will be available on the iPlayer.


The space interloper 'Oumuamua is spinning chaotically and will carry on doing so for more than a billion years.

That is the conclusion of new Belfast research that has examined in detail the light bouncing off the cigar-shaped asteroid from outside our Solar System.


'Oumuamua: 'space cigar's' tumble hints at violent past



The Sky At Night programme
Published: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-018-0398-z
Nature Astronomy.
ID: 1918338 · Report as offensive
Previous · 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 . . . 9 · Next

Message boards : SETI@home Science : Oumuamua


 
©2024 University of California
 
SETI@home and Astropulse are funded by grants from the National Science Foundation, NASA, and donations from SETI@home volunteers. AstroPulse is funded in part by the NSF through grant AST-0307956.