Is 'Oumuamua Alien Technology?

Three years ago, we detected the first interstellar object passing through the Solar System, `Oumuamua. Ever since, astronomers have been debating the origins of this strange body. Whilst many hypothesize an asteroid, the media is ablaze with the possibility that it could be alien technology. Join us today for a discussion of this theory and the counterarguments proposed. Written & presented by Prof David Kipping. Thanks to Dr Sean Raymond for fact checking check out his blog www.planetplanet.net and astro poetry book

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::References::

► Loeb, A., 2018, "Six Strange Facts About`Oumuamua", Scientific American

► The 'Oumuamua ISSI Team, 2019, "The Natural History of 'Oumuamua", Nature Astronomy, 3, 594

► Bialy, S. & Loeb, A., 2018, "Could Solar Radiation Pressure Explain ‘Oumuamua’s Peculiar Acceleration?", ApJ, 868, 1

► Siraj, A. & Loeb, A., 2019, "‘Oumuamua's Geometry Could Be More Extreme than Previously Inferred", RNAAS, 3, 15

► Zhang, Y. & Lin, D., 2020, "Tidal fragmentation as the origin of 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua)", Nature Astronomy, 4, 852

► Engelhardt, T. et al., 2017, "An Observational Upper Limit on the Interstellar Number Density of Asteroids and Comets", AJ, 153, 133

► Meech, K., et al., 2017, "A brief visit from a red and extremely elongated interstellar asteroid", Nature, 552, 378

::Clips used::

See shorturl.at/glFLR

::Music::

Music used is licensed by SoundStripe.com (SS) [shorturl.at/ptBHI], or via Creative Commons (CC) Attribution License (), or with permission from the artist.

► "My Unbelief" by Hill licensed via SS

► "Cylinder Two" and "Cylinder Four" by Chris Zabriskie licensed under a CC Attribution license

► "Painted Deserts" by Shimmer licensed via SS

► "Cylinder Five" by Chris Zabriskie licensed under a CC Attribution license

► "Stories About The World That Once Was" and "We Were Never Meant to Live Here" by Chris Zabriskie licensed under a CC Attribution license

► "Y" by Joachim Heinrich licensed under a CC Attribution license

► "Human Nature" by Hill, used with permission from the artist

► "Trace Correction" by Indive licensed under a CC Attribution license

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