A strange object in space is hurtling toward Earth, its speed growing ever faster as it mysteriously accelerates — in ways that defy the gravitational pull of the sun.
Initially believed to be a typical space rock randomly floating through the cosmos, a researcher has come up with another explanation — indicating this baffling extraterrestrial object may actually have some decidedly Earthly origins.
Mysterious Acceleration
The asteroid — known as 1998 KY26 — is widely believed to be a relatively small space rock, approximately the size of a school bus.
However, the Daily Mail reports that one scientist believes the object is actually a Soviet-era spacecraft that blasted into space nearly 40 years ago, only to vanish.
Harvard Professor Avi Loeb has developed a theory that the mysterious accelerating object is Phobos 1, a craft launched by the former Soviet Union in 1988 on a destination to Mars. Months after its mission began, Russian scientists lost contact with the craft, which mysteriously vanished.
That actually dovetails with a previous report from researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, which concluded that KY26 is “likely a dehydrated asteroid,” yet also could not account for the object’s strange acceleration patterns.
A Soviet Spacecraft
Loeb, along with co-authors Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, released their own study on arXiv, arguing that “the object’s size, unusually high shininess, rapid spin and orbit are consistent with a man-made spacecraft.”
According to Loeb’s report, “the object’s acceleration would come from the sun’s energy pushing on Phobos 1’s shiny metal surfaces and solar panels — creating a condition known as ‘solar radiation pressure.'”
The report also pointed to other evidence. “The similarity of the orbit of 1998 KY26 to the orbit of the lost Phobos 1 spacecraft suggests that the two objects are the same,” Loeb said in a statement.
In any case, it will take a few years before the truth is known definitively one way or another. As the Mail points out, a Japanese space probe — the Hayabusa2 — will intercept with KY26 at some point in 2031, when the Japanese spacecraft will make history “by using its remaining fuel to become the first Earth spacecraft to make contact with and study a space object that small,” the Mail adds.
Hayabusa2 had previously visited the asteroid Ryugu, where the probe collected samples from the asteroid’s surface. Those samples were returned to Earth in 2020.
For the time being, Loeb believes he’s cracked the case, and has solved an outer-space mystery that’s been puzzling researchers for years.
“Our prediction is that instead of an iceberg, Hayabusa 2’s cameras will reveal the label ‘Made in the U.S.S.R.'” Loeb stated.
Scientist Believes That Mystery Object Accelerating Towards Earth Is a Long-Lost Spacecraft