Episode 137: An Alien Asteroid in Our Solar System, with Alan Stern

Feature Guest: Alan Stern There’s an intruder in our solar system. This fall we were invaded by the first interstellar space traveller, an elongated, cigar shaped alien asteroid. The mysterious object was ejected from its distant and unknown home, travelling for millions or billions of years before coming to pass between the Earth and the sun. On today’s episode of The Star Spot we’re joined by Dr. Alan Stern, principal investigator for the New Horizons mission to Pluto, to explain how the detection of an interstellar asteroid named Oumuamua is likely the first of many such strange and bizarre objects, and heralds the dawn of a new era in astronomy. Current in Space Proxima b may be the closer exoplanet, but Tony explains why it now has competition for closest Earth twin. And Maya reports how improved technology is helping us find galaxies that are dimmer, further and older than any before.  About Our Guest Dr. Alan Stern is a planetary scientist with an illustrious career. He was principal investigator for eight planetary science missions and is the current PI for NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto. He was previously Executive Director of the Southwest Research Institute’s Space Science and Engineering Division and past Associate Administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. He is currently Chief Scientist at Moon Express, a private enterprise dedicated to mining the moon for natural resources. In 2007, Stern was listed among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.