Ever since I began quoting on Science from Google news headlines

. . . they keep sending me stuff like this . . .

Mystery interstellar asteroid Oumuamua 'could be gigantic alien solar sail sent to look for signs of life'

Might it be because they think I'm interested in that kinda stuff?

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/06/health/oumuamua-alien-probe-harvard-intl/index.html

No matter what it is...it is interesting to know where it came from and where it is headed? As it entered and exited our Solar system did gravitational tugs on the object seem spontaneous or planned? Curious that it won't take an orbit around our Star but instead will just head away from our Solar system. For me it's not about being interested or not but more about curiosity and just keeping an open ming as new information is provided...

 

The algorithm they use takes your search history to send you similar information to your interests, and because you tend to go with inane conspiracy theory while avoiding actual science they feed it to you....and you gobble it up.

 

Lol, I’ve been reading a lot about this too! Super fascinating stuff. I want to learn more about it NOW! But unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be anything else to really learn about it. Pretty cool how they found that it seemed to accelerate slightly away from the sun though.

 

"“This additional subtle force on ′Oumuamua likely is caused by jets of gaseous material expelled from its surface,” said Farnocchia. “This same kind of outgassing affects the motion of many comets in our solar system"
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/...terstellar-object-gets-unexpected-speed-boost

Pretty standard stuff.

 

That's what they were previously thinking it was, but I thought I read that recently they figured out it couldn't be that, which is what comets do. But this object is not behaving like a comet and is not giving off any gasses. That's part of the reason why they are so perplexed by it now. At least from what I understood. I'll look for some links later on when I have more time.

 

All asteroids contain water and Ice which WILL outgas when heated. Comets are not the pure white snowballs many believe they are and most are in fat black as coal. Any celestial object will be affected in trajectory when close to the sun through gravitational interaction, Radiation/solar wind....etc....so it is not entirely surprising this one was as well. The extremely close and detailed examination also probably played a role and likely if we did so for other asteroids we would notice similar anomalies.

 

Maybe so. At any rate, it is still an amazing story, our first interstellar visitor, at least that we know of.

 

Non doubt...the oblong appearance is also fascinating and I am not sure if it is a piece of something much bigger or a spent comet.

 

Being curious is a highly valuable quality, because the knowledge gained makes for an interesting individual, not to mention intelligent also. And keeping an open mind is a good quality too, the alternative to it being gulliblity.

 

All of us have the ability to be gullible. On more critical issues we need to learn more to avoid being gullible...

 

Then demand proof of those from whom you learn, otherwise that does make you gullible - QED??

 

Yeah...like asking for proof about religion...

 

The primary issue being a decision to ignore said proof in favor of pre-conceived opinion ingrained in mindset making actual education impossible.

 

Just because something can't be proven doesn't mean it must have happened?

 

That makes no sense and has no point.

 

No, I didn't expect you to get it because it's too rational for you to understand.

 

Perhaps then.....you can help my little brain understand it.
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cerberus said: ↑
Just because something can't be proven doesn't mean it must have happened?"

Just because there is no proof does not mean it happened?....WTF does that mean?

 

You can't prove there's a 'lander' (whatever a ****ing lander is!) on Mars, but it doesn't necessarily mean there isn't?

 

Okay, that is a bit better. But if video and documented/verified data from multiple diverse sources over years of service are not considered proof....nothing can ever be.

 

Global climate change potential is probably considered in the top five most critical issues of the US and the world...but I wonder how can global climate change be taught in public education when many of the educators and half the parents don't believe in AGW?

 

Geez...maybe there's not even a Mars...

 

As with all controversial topics, this will be a difficult topic to educate on until it becomes undeniable. Unfortunately with this one it will not matter at that point because the topic will shift to surviving it. Young people in general already accept it and are dealing with it in tiny piecemeal pieces not truly understanding what the possible impacts will be (nobody really does). The big problem right now is the Adults being incapable of consensus or action to try some level of action on either prevention or preparedness so it is up to the youth themselves and those parents that do have a bit of understanding.
The unfortunate reality I see is that the opportunity for any meaningful changes or prevention has passed so time is best spent on preparation for inevitability. In the coming decade(s) as the Methane bomb kicks in in may become undeniable but, we shall see and as stated it wont really matter. I am simply glad I will be dead before this gets really bad.

 

I always wondered why we needed laws and signs to encourage people not to litter? What type of person has no problem littering and no problem looking at other people's litter? Burning fossil fuels is much more difficult to combat since hundreds of millions of us have been doing this our entire lives. But now we have more information and we can correlate some of our habits to direct impacts on Earth, but most people struggle with immediate changes to help mitigate the potential...change takes lots of time. People are not going to run out and change their cars to non-fossil fuel vehicles...there is limited choice, they are expensive, and it requires a paradigm shift. Many people focus on economy more than sacrificing for the environment, for example, communities with coal mining, and I don't blame them since they have few if any other choices for an income. This is a complex topic and science or no science, people are focused on getting through their next day...