Starts With A Bang #38 — Interstellar Interloper `Oumuamua

The first identified visitor from another solar system gets its own Starts With A Bang podcast!

In 2017, the incredible happened: for the first time in history, we were able to identify an object passing through our Solar System that originated from outside of it! Interstellar interloper ‘Oumuamua was originally designated as a comet, then as an asteroid, and then as a new class of object: one of interstellar origin. It’s a fascinating object that’s the first of its kind, and much has been said about its composition, properties, and possible nature.

But, unfortunately, the most famous of those “nature” discussions was from Schmuel Baily and Avi Loeb of Harvard, claiming that it could be due to aliens.

Is that plausible? Is that even science? My guest for this edition is astrophysicist Paul Matt Sutter, author of the new book Your Place In The Universe, and we have an almost-hour-long discussion that goes to some fantastic and unexpected places. You won’t want to miss it!

The Starts With A Bang Podcast is made possible through the donations of our Patreon supporters, who get it early, get shout-outs, and much more!

Find Paul online on Twitter twitter.com/PaulMattSutter,
Video: www.pmsutter.com/shows/askaspaceman/,
Book: Your Place In The Universe amzn.to/2DCysNj