Ask Me Help Desk - A blast from the past

A blast from the past

Oumuamua passed Earth at a respectful distance last week, this visitor wasn't noticed until after it passed the sun, and it wasn't a comet, so none of the warning signs, but it begs the question, how many of these objects are there? I ask this question because there are frequent reports of NEO blasting past unannounced.

This object has started a frantic project to catch up to it and study it, I don't think much thought has been given to the 30,000,000 Km that separated us and the speed at which it is going, I don't think we actually have a vehicle that can go that fast, a voyage to Mars takes several months with the advantage of a favourable launch,It will be out to Jupiter in 2018 and Saturn in 2019 and that is a long way.

Truly, I would like to know what it may tell us we don't already know, is it an Oort cloud object or something else? Some say it has been travelling for billions of years, but then so has the Earth.

I think we have other matters for urgent enquiry and expenditure of funds

This is what I got,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CA%BBOumuamua

Exactly, but what is the point of chasing after it

You took that too literally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by talaniman

You took that too literally.

How else do you take it? Either they mount an expedition or they do not. I have reached the stage with this space exploration thing that I think it is a gigantic hoax. A reasonable person evaluating the available information must come to the conclusion that without a quantum leap in many fields we will gain as much by sitting in a corner and eating worms

I dismissed such a claim as wishful think, as chasing a fast moving asteroid is impractical without 10 years of preparation. Let me know how those worms in a corner thing works out. I'll just wait for the next big step for mankind to be made.

Quote:

Originally Posted by talaniman

I dismissed such a claim as wishful think, as chasing a fast moving asteroid is impractical without 10 years of preparation. Let me know how those worms in a corner thing works out. I'll just wait for the next big step for mankind to be made.

I'll speculate that will be the day Trump leaves office

Quote:

Originally Posted by paraclete

I'll speculate that will be the day Trump leaves office

Bring on the worms!

I think where we are going off track is that this thing is the first of its kind that we are aware of. Also we do have other projects in space at this time that may be able to intercept and study this thing. And we have gained a lot from the space program by pushing the limits of what we can do. There is already talk again of going back to the moon.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdad

I think where we are going off track is that this thing is the first of its kind that we are aware of. Also we do have other projects in space at this time that may be able to intercept and study this thing. And we have gained a lot from the space program by pushing the limits of what we can do. There is already talk again of going back to the moon.

Yes, going "back" to the Moon is a great leap forward. I read somewhere that they think there might be many such objects passing through our solar system, this is just the first to be observed, it's like asteroids, we were oblivious until a few years ago how many are passing us all the time. I don't see how countries with massive budgetary constraints can continue these programs for prestige. Just getting off the planet is a massive exercise, then add the manned vehicle, there has to be more point to it than gathering samples

Until dumb humans figure it out, then we are stuck in our own stupidity!

Hurry up and beam me out of this madhouse Scotty!

Quote:

Originally Posted by talaniman

Until dumb humans figure it out, then we are stuck in our own stupidity!

Hurry up and beam me out of this madhouse Scotty!

Yes we will have to be like Scotty and figure out how to teleport to a moving vehicle