Alien Technology From Another Galaxy Skimmed By Earth In 2017, Harvard Professor Says

A Harvard professor believes a piece of alien technology passed close to Earth three years ago.

Avi Loeb, the chair of Harvard’s Department of Astronomy, claimed in a new book set to be published this month that an object that wandered into the solar system in 2017 was the first sign of intelligent life outside Earth.

Scientists at a Hawaiian observatory saw "an object soaring through our inner solar system, moving so quickly that it could only have been from another star," according to publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's summary of Loeb's "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth."

Loeb believes the object wasn't just another rock but "a piece of advanced technology created by a distant alien civilization," according to HMH.

The space rock in question is the first known interstellar object to visit the solar system and is described by NASA as a "rocky, cigar-shaped object with a somewhat reddish hue." Dubbed ‘Oumuamua, which roughly translates to "scout" in Hawaiian, it was first spotted on Oct. 19, 2017, by astronomer Robert Weryk using the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) telescope at Haleakalā Observatory, Hawaii.

NASA suggested that ‘Oumuamua initially traveled from the direction of bright star Vega, in the northern constellation of Lyra approximately 25 light-years away. The object left the solar system in 2019 after moving beyond Saturn's orbit and is now headed for the constellation Pegasus approximately 50 light-years away, according to the space agency.

But while most of his fellow astronomers don't support his theory, Loeb told the New York Post that he believes that ‘Oumuamua's unusual shape and "excess push away from the sun" are enough proof that the object is not just another space rock.

Unlike natural objects that move slower as they move away from the sun, Loeb said ‘Oumuamua accelerated "slightly, but to a highly statistically significant extent" as it moved further and further away. The professor also pointed out that an elongated shape is unusual for natural space objects.

"If we are not alone, are we the smartest kids on the block?" Loeb told the outlet. "If there was a species that eliminated itself through war or changing the climate, we can get our act together and behave better. Instead, we are wasting a lot of resources on Earth fighting each other and other negative things that are a big waste."

Loeb's "Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth" will be available for purchase starting Jan. 26.