Trapped "interstellar invaders" may be circling the Earth, scientists say

On the Earth's orbit, trapped in gravity, there may be debris from alien star systems that entered the solar system due to the gravitational pull of Jupiter. It is possible that in the same way objects created by aliens can get into our system.

This is stated in a study published on the website of preprints arXiv. Co-author of the study was Harvard University professor of physics Avi Loeb, who has previously made bold assumptions about the probes through which the aliens study Earth.

The authors of the study suggest that objects from other star systems can enter our solar system by flying past Jupiter. During such a flyby, they become trapped in the gas giant's gravitational trap and may be stuck in orbit around the Sun for millions of years or become near-Earth objects.

At the same time, these objects are too small to be detected by modern telescopes.

Researchers call such space "aliens" interstellar invaders. As suggested, they may be ice rocks ejected from their home stellar systems.

Loeb and his colleagues also do not rule out the idea that such objects could include those created by alien intelligence.

One such interplanetary invader, as previously suggested by Loeb, was a cigar-shaped object called Oumuamua, which suddenly appeared in our solar system in 2017.

Oumuamua was so unlike previously known asteroids or comets from the solar system that they allowed the possibility that it was not a natural object. It was later determined that Oumuamua had been in our Milky Way galaxy for millions of years before it burst into the solar system.

Subsequently, another guest object was discovered in our system. It was a ball of ice and dust the size of the Eiffel Tower, called Comet Borisov.

Neither Oumuamua nor Comet Borisova were influenced by the Sun's gravity, so they could eventually leave our system. In particular, Oumuamua is already beyond the orbit of Neptune, heading for an exit.

In a new study, scientists also modeled the likelihood that such alien invaders could fall into Earth's gravity trap. It turned out that such a scenario is quite possible, although it is difficult to compare Earth's capabilities with Jupiter, which gathers almost all interstellar visitors around itself.

According to LiveScience, Loeb explained that although the team does not theorize about the existence of interstellar objects orbiting Earth, astronomers must continue to test the possibility.

Scientists are convinced that studying such objects will allow humanity to understand how distant star systems are formed, and if extraterrestrial technology falls into the gravity trap, the discovery will be even more powerful.

"Interstellar objects come from outside the solar system and could potentially be technological in origin, like the five interstellar probes launched by humanity... If (the objects. - Ed.) are of artificial origin... they could tell us about extraterrestrial technological civilizations," Loeb stressed.

Earlier OBOZREVATEL also reported that according to Professor Harry Nolan from Stanford, aliens have long visited the Earth and are even on it now.

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