Using the Goldstone solar system radar antenna, astronomers “observed” how a massive object 500 meters long and 150 meters wide was approaching Earth.
Photos from open sources
A huge number of objects pass through the solar system, including comets and asteroids. Some of them are so oddly shaped that some researchers say they may be related to alien civilizations. In general, the solar system is an extremely busy place.
Goldstone solar system radar (GSSR) is a large radar system used to study objects in the solar system. The 70-meter radar antenna is located at the DSN (Deep Space Network) facility in California.
Recently, astronomers used the above radar to track the movement of a strange object that flew past our planet safely.
Photos from open sources
An asteroid more than three times its width flew by Earth on February 3 at a distance of 1.8 million kilometers. Despite the absence of risks of collision, experts closely followed its trajectory, trying to learn more about its size, rotation period, surface features and, more importantly, its shape.
This object was discovered more than 22 years ago, in 2011, but only now astronomers have been able to capture it in close-up. Initial observations found the object to be about 500 meters long and about 150 meters wide. This is the most elongated object that scientists have ever seen from more than a thousand near-Earth objects.
Astronomers observed the strangely elongated object between January 29 and February 4, 2023 and captured various interesting details. The experts found a wide concavity present in one of the two hemispheres of the massive space rock. Radar observations also recorded a distinct difference in color, with barely visible light and dark areas.
Experts say that if the object could be observed with the naked eye, it would resemble a huge piece of dark coal. Tracking its trajectory with GSSR allowed experts to confirm that the asteroid has a slow rotation rate, taking about nine hours to complete a full rotation.
Well, now it is the turn of the famous astrophysicist Avi Leb to speak, according to which the previous guest of the solar system, the mysterious object ‘Oumuamua could be an alien probe.
