Did an Alien Probe Enter Our Solar System? Asteroid 'Oumuamua' Could Be Artificial, According to Extraterrestrial Investigators

It will either be the greatest discovery humanity has ever made—or just a pretty cool bit of scientific research.

For the first time, humans have detected an interstellar asteroid—a space rock they're calling 'Oumuamua, which is a Hawaiian word meaning "scout." It's the only object we've ever seen that entered the solar system from beyond our little collection of planets. That's a pretty big deal on its own. But on top of that, this asteroid has a really interesting shape: It's very long and skinny. Basically, it looks like a cigar—or at least that's what everyone is saying. Because the asteroid is so relatively small and far away, you can't really see it with a normal telescope. Those photos you're looking at are just an artist's impression.

The 400 metre-long cigar may have been travelling through space on its lonely journey for hundreds of millions of years before it was snared by the sun's gravitational pull. But some scientists think there's a small chance it's a spaceship built by some advanced civilisation.

A telescope will now be trained on the object to see whether it's producing any signals—which would indicate it's alien in origin—or whether it's just a plain old asteroid on a solitary path through the heavens. However, its strange shape offers few clues about how it was formed, boosting speculation about its artificial origins. Could it actually be a reconnaissance craft sent out by an alien mothership?

There's a small chance that the asteroid could finally reveal whether humanity is alone in the universe. Sadly though, the alien hunters aren't getting too excited. Oumuamua appears to be zooming through space without any external propulsion, suggesting it's natural in origin, and so far it has not produced any radio signals. Whatever it turns out to be, I think we can safely say it's not actually a 400 metre-long cigar.

▍生词好句

a pretty cool bit of: "pretty cool" means good, slightly better than good. (常用搭配: a pretty cool bit of tech / kit: a useful piece of technology; a cool gadget / a special tool)

a pretty big deal: a big deal is sth. that is important or has a special meaning or some special value. (pretty increases the importance.) (常用搭配: make a pretty big deal out of sth.: make sth. seem important when actually it's not important)

just a plain old: not unusual, not interesting, not special, very typical, very normal, just nothing special.

boost speculation /ˌspɛkjʊˈleɪʃn/: to add support to an idea or a theory.

could it actually / really be: it's used to say that sth. surprising and maybe unexpected might be true or possible.

sadly though: unfortunately. ("sadly" can mean in a sad way ,with sadness, with regret, regretfully.)

aren't getting too excited: if you are not getting too excited by sth., you know sth. is exciting and maybe special, but you try to keep calm about it, or try to hide your excitement.