In October 2017, an unusually thin, elongated object was detected by astronomers. It was like nothing seen before and even accelerated as it left our solar system. It was named 'Oumuamua, and its many abnormalities, such as its constantly fluctuating brightness, caused problems for scientists. Indeed, because it did not fit the normal conventions of a space object, one academic admitted to Professor Avi Loeb that they
“wished it had never existed”.
But the chair of Harvard University’s astronomy department was excited about the strangeness of 'Oumuamua, inspired by its anomalies and intrigued by the fact it was the first interstellar object that had been detected passing through our solar system. After
studying the data, he announced
“the high likelihood that 'Oumuamua was of artificial origin”