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ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs.
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“Telling where it started, like which star in the sky it came from, that's very difficult,” Loeb says. The object’s landing predates a perhaps better known interstellar object called ‘Oumuamua, first spotted in 2017 hurtling through the solar system. Loeb famously published a book in 2021 elaborating on his speculation that the blunt-shaped object, estimated to be about the size of a football field, was a piece of technology from life in another solar system—or, in plain terms, an alien spaceship. This theory has been controversial, and not all astronomers are on board. Loeb is careful to note that the interstellar meteor may well have a natural explanation, but he isn’t ruling out that the 2014 object is a sign of life in other star systems, either, nor that it’s a piece of technology from civilizations on other planets. “You will never discover wonderful things if you don't allow them to be discovered,” Loeb said. “If you're not open minded.” “My tendency is to assume that we are not unique or special,” he added. “Others [created spacefaring technology] a billion years ago, and by now those pieces of equipment may have reached our shore. We can just check if they are out there.”