jwocky wrote:The intriguing part for me is not the idea that it is maybe artificial. I mean, at those speeds, even if someone built it, he can't sail on it and still be alive, so no talk over a coffee with an alien anyway.
But the idea of a sun sail per se ... I mean,, look around, how much of our technology was inspired by things from the nature!
That's what is so intriguing for me.. there are some juicy things about it:
1. its shape
2. its point of entry and coincidental flyby of Earth
3. if it's a solar sail (natural or otherwise) it would have been slowing down on the approach to the Sun (?) so its actual speed through interstellar would have been much quicker
4. its apparent low mass. I got this from some video, but I can't find it for now. Basically, for it to be affected by solar radiation to alter its trajectory like that without outgassing, it has to be pretty low mass. Large pieces of rocks are usually not low mass, unless it is some kind of new material we have never discovered before. Or some drifting long-dead alien ship that is big on the outside but hollow inside, or some piece of an alien ship that broke off due to an accident or deliberately jettisoned.
Yaeh the above points are not smoking gun and it is higly probably it is natural object. But. I personally imagine that if it is indeed artificial and if we someone get more data on that and confirm it, it would make us humans pay attention and work together rather than playing boss kicking sand at each and fighting other on so many different levels..