NASA Solves Mystery Of Cigar Shaped Asteroid Mistaken For UFO

A GROUP of scientists claim to have identified a mysterious object spotted flying through space and thought to have been an alien spaceship.

By Rhian Deutrom

This image shows the journey of Oumuamua through our solar system.

SCIENTISTS have uncovered the truth about a mysterious space rock called Oumuamua which has been hurtling through Earth’s solar system and was spotted last year.

A group of acclaimed astronomers, including members from NASA, the European Space Agency and the German Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, released a report this week on the origins of the cigar-shaped asteroid which was first observed in October 2017.

The name Oumuamua is Hawaiian for “messenger from afar arriving first” and was named by the site who first spotted it.

According to the report, “a fast moving object on an unbound orbit was discovered close to the Earth” by a high-powered telescope, located in Hawaii.

The report claims Oumuamua is a metallic or rocky object, approximately 400 metres in length and about 40 metres wide.

It has a “comet-like density” and a dark red surface.

“(The red surface suggests) either an organic-rich surface like that of comets and outer solar system asteroids, or a surface containing minerals with nanoscale iron, such as the dark side of Saturn’s moon Iapetus,” the report said.

The report suggested Oumuamua left its home millions of years ago and was likely sent on its lonely journey when it was “ejected during planet formation and migration” and has been linked to four possible star systems.

It was also calculated that Oumuamua moved faster than the existing laws of celestial mechanics.

The report has been accepted into The Astrophysical Journal.

The discovery of Oumuamua sparked international debate when it was first discovered, as scientists struggled to explain what exactly the long, thin asteroid was and why it was flying so close to Earth.

The discovery even prompted suggestions that the rock was actually an alien spaceship or probe, used to explore our solar system.

But one fact has remained uncontended: Oumuamua is the first object ever observed travelling into our solar system from deep space.

The report found that Oumuamua is likely “one of many” interstellar objects that pass through Earth’s solar system on a regular basis.

Is Earth ready for alien contact? IT IS NOW - Government UFO expert pens contingency plan

EXCLUSIVE: A UFO expert who investigated alien sightings for the UK Government has drafted a contingency plan for the day humans discover extraterrestrial life.

By Sebastian Kettley

Nick Pope, who worked for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) between 1985 and 2006, says the world is incredibly underprepared for the eventuality of extraterrestrial contact.

Whether humans discover alien microbes on Mars or detect radio signals from a distant civilisation, Mr Pope said “top-level strategic planning” needs to be readily available.

And exclusively for Express.co.uk, the UFO expert took it upon himself to draft a five-page-long document outlining what he thinks is an adequate response to discovering aliens.

You can read the entire contingency plan written by Mr Pope below.

Mr Pope said he believes people have grown disillusioned with outer space after the Apollo program failed to extend humanity’s reach into the stars.

He thinks this somewhat dampened public excitement around the hunt for alien life, which in turn has left our defences wide open.

Mr Pope said: “It’s an uphill struggle. It’s always tricky to convince people to spend money on what a lot of people might consider white elephant projects, considering a lot of the social problems we have.

“As often as I like to say questions like ‘are we alone or not in the universe’ – that is one of the most profound questions we could ask.

“And if we can get an answer to that, we want that answer and why wouldn’t we really push hard for it?”

According to Mr Pope, one of the biggest threats surrounding Earth’s lack of readiness is the possibility of coming in contact with deadly alien contaminants.

The UFO expert fears outside of NASA, there is no adequate legislation in place, to deal with potentially lethal extraterrestrial microbes and viruses.

In his drafted plan, Mr Pope urged the UK Government to ensure proper biological hazard containment protocols are in place.

He wrote: “In scientific terms, this danger is described as ‘back contamination’ and is part of ‘planetary protection’ policy.

“In NASA, this falls under the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance (OSMA).

“In the event of any sample-return or discovery-return mission, Her Majesty’s Government (HMG) will wish to seek robust assurances that the lead agency – probably NASA, but maybe the space agency of another nation, or a private company such as SpaceX – has appropriate biological hazard containment protocols in place.”

Earlier in August, Mr Pope told Express.co.uk world governments are making a “big mistake” by not preparing for this eventuality.

He now says he thinks people are simply unaware of the dangers lurking in space.

He added: “I don’t think people understand the issues. I don’t think people understand how close we might be to getting an answer."

According to Mr Pope, there are three ways in which humans might one day find the answer to “are we alone in the universe”.

The most likely of the three is the discovery of alien microbes, dead or alive, on alien worlds such as Mars.

The other two scenarios bank on technologically advanced alien civilisations beaming signals into space or sending spacecraft to Earth.

Mr Pope’s contingency plan outlines a set of guidelines on how to react to each of these scenarios.

These include immediate actions that would need to be taken in situations that directly threaten the safety of the planet.

He wrote: “There are three very different scenarios, which will be dealt with in turn, because each raises separate issues, where very different actions will need to be taken.”

Examining the decline: Another look at the data on UFO sighting reports

By Cheryl Costa

I have previously reported that UFO sighting reports have been on a steep decline for three years. 2018 is continuing this steep dropoff.

Please note that I said “UFO sighting reports” and not sightings. I’ve been getting considerable mail that sightings are still up in North America and in Europe. It just seems that folks aren’t showing an enthusiasm for reporting their recent sightings. One UFO researcher commented, “We see so many, who has time to report them all!”

After my last report about the decline, I observed two things. One was a volume of mansplaining why this decline is occurring. The other was a host of copycat articles being posted, some with the most absurd numbers.

The numbers in this article are a snapshot as of Sept. 20. Keep in mind that people do report sightings years after the event. So a sample I take today might be off by 50 or 100 for a particular year, if I sample three to six months from now.

I’ve come to understand that the UFO sighting report databases are, in a sense, living documents and seem to have a creeping growth. If we were studying farm reports or the census from a particular year, the numbers, for the most part, are solid with a small margin of error. So please keep this in mind when I do a year-end report because the numbers may be slightly different.

Let’s look at an eight-year snapshot of National UFO Reporting Center data. Note that 2017 is displaying a seven-year low for UFO sighting reports. The decline from 2014 to 2015 was 1,788 reports. The decrease from 2015 to 2016 was 1,231 reports. Interestingly, the shrinkage from 2016 to 2017 was only 680 reports. Ordinarily, one might assume that the UFO sighting report deterioration might be leveling out to an average baseline.

Yet if we examine the first eight months of the past six years, including 2018, except for a spike in 2014, we generally see a steady downward trend. Where it will all settle out is anybody’s guess.

But let’s consider some of the possible reasons that have been offered by many readers. Some blamed the announcement of Space Force; sorry, the declines in reports started four years before the announcement.

Others blamed too many people with their heads down and focused on their pads and phones. Maybe.

Quite a few people suggested that the ETs may have run out of interest (or perhaps galactic grant funding) to continue their studies here on Earth. Still others expressed boredom with reporting UFO sightings, especially since Disclosure seems to be stalled. The mood was “Why bother?”

Some suggested that there’s a general apathy in the country given our chaotic political situation. Finally, there are many who wonder if the falloff in UFO sighting reports is the calm before a storm. Who knows?

On the Road

CNY UFO Club. Sept. 29, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jamesville-Dewitt Community Library, 5110 Jamesville Road, Jamesville, New York

UFO MEGA CON. March 24-30. Laughlin, Nevada

Ozark Mountains UFO Conference. April 12-14. Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Pine Bush UFO Festival. May 18. Pine Bush, New York

Michigan UFO Con-Tact. Sept 20-21

Greater New England UFO Conference. Oct. 4-5