04.13.20. Interstellar: Visitors From Beyond

In October 2017, a mysterious visitor was spotted by astronomers as it passed through our solar system. First believed to be a comet, the strange object was named 'Oumuamua, meaning 'scout' or 'first distant messenger.' Since its discovery, 'Oumuamua has continued to baffle scientists, displaying unusual acceleration and other capabilities that leave its identity and origins in question. This week on The Micah Hanks Program, after news and analysis of a recent string of UFO sightings around the Great Lakes (along with some pretty lazy reporting in that regard), we take a look back at the strange "Dancing Plague of 1518," and what modern science has to say about it. Finally, the heart of our discussion deals with the search for interstellar objects in our solar system, and whether evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence might be found in this way. Some have even proposed that 'Oumuamua might be an interstellar probe sent into space by some intelligent alien civilization, notably Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb, who drew some criticism for his proposal. We look at the scientific search for alien life, and the history of astronomers who spotted UFOs over the last several centuries in our exploration this week on The Micah Hanks Program.  Coronavirus Charities: If you are able, please consider supporting the following charities that are offering relief for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic: No Kid Hungry Responds to Coronavirus American Red Cross: Give Blood Feeding America Meals on Wheels Homeless Shelter Directory Enjoy The Micah Hanks Program? Check out Micah's other podcasts here.  Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode: Medieval shrine discovered in mysterious UK cave Yeah, Those Weren't UFOs Over Cleveland Last Weekend, But It'd Be Cool If They Were UFOs or Lanterns? Flying Objects Seen in the Night Sky Over US Cities Danse Macabre: Strange and Deadly “Dancing Plagues” The Dancing plague of 1518 A forgotten plague: making sense of dancing mania ‘Oumuamua and Interstellar Visitors from Beyond “Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov Appears to Have Broken in Half” In Depth: Nasa Science Page for ‘Oumuamua Have Aliens Found Us? A Harvard Astronomer on the Mysterious Interstellar Object ‘Oumuamua On `Oumuamua by Abraham (Avi) Loeb, Harvard University (Nov 5, 2018) The Case for Cosmic Modesty | Abraham (Avi) Loeb Abraham 'Avi' Loeb - Alien Intelligences Monstrator: The Odd, Ephemeral Mystery Object That “Dropped Anchor” in 1762 The Curious History of Earth’s Long-Sought “Second Moon” The Strange, Sordid History of the ‘Black Knight Satellite’ Expect More Interstellar Visitors Like ’Oumuamua Should Earthlings Chase ‘Oumuamua Into Interstellar Space? Homo Galacticus: How Space Will Shape The Humans of The Future BECOME AN X SUBSCRIBER AND GET EVEN MORE GREAT PODCASTS AND MONTHLY SPECIALS FROM MICAH HANKS. Sign up today and get access to the entire back catalog of The Micah Hanks Program, as well as “classic” episodes of The Gralien Report Podcast, weekly “additional editions” of the subscriber-only X Podcast, the monthly Enigmas specials, and much more. Like us on Facebook Follow @MicahHanks on Twitter Follow Micah on Instagram Visit Micah's Website and check out Our Podcast Page Music featured on The Micah Hanks Program includes songs composed by Caleb Hanks (The Clerk Chronicles), Decepticons (Dreamland, Start the Machine) and Micah Hanks. All songs are either in the public domain, Royalty Free, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0, or are used with permission of the creators. Please note that some links to books and other items on this page may feature Amazon Associate links.