Could there be “hidden” extraterrestrial probes near Earth?

Credit/ NASA


To observe our planet, extraterrestrial probes would need a solid anchor point in orbit, capable of easily hiding them. In this sense, Earth's quasi-satellites could be the ideal place to hide.


Imagine this: 80 million years ago, an advanced civilization detected signatures of life on our planet. It sends signals, but receives nothing in return. It then adopts another approach, and sends a robotic probe directly to the site. The goal: to observe what is happening on this strange planet, without intervening. See, without being seen . To do this, these extraterrestrial probes would then need to settle into orbit around our planet. Not too close nor too far. We would also have to find a way to go unnoticed. For the American physicist James Benford, these “hiding places” exist. There are a few around the Earth.


Quasi-satellites 

They are also called co-orbital objects . These objects perform orbital loops around the Sun similar to those of the Earth's orbital structure. We only know a handful. The closest to Earth, called 2016 HO3 , measures only about twenty meters in diameter. It operates a little more than 14 million kilometers from Earth.


For the researcher, these small stones a few meters in diameter which “dance” around the Earth constitute an ideal way to be able to observe our world from a secure natural object. Not only would these asteroids hide one or more probes , but they would also provide raw materials (mining activity) and constant solar energy . These devices, in addition to monitoring us, could report fairly regularly on our biosphere and our civilization over long periods of time.


It costs nothing to take a look

The hypothesis, which seems very improbable at first glance, was published in The Astronomical Journal , an important journal. And as physicist and theoretician Paul Davies of the University of Arizona points out, “it doesn't cost anything to go take a look. Even if we don't find extraterrestrial probes, we might find something interesting . "


For the moment, our best target remains asteroid 2016 HO3. It is the smallest and most stable known. China has already announced its intention to send a probe there as part of a 10-year mission which will be launched in 2024.

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