An artist’s impression of interstellar asteroid 'Oumuamua', thought to be some 400 metres long. Asteroid mining presents a massive future commercial opportunity. ESO
An artist’s impression of interstellar asteroid 'Oumuamua', thought to be some 400 metres long. Asteroid mining presents a massive future commercial opportunity. ESO

‘Oumuamua: alien starship or just another piece of rock?



As Star Wars fans try to contain their excitement over this week's premiere of The Last Jedi, astronomers are agog at a real-life space drama playing out in our own solar system.

The Earth has just had its first known encounter with an object from another star - and there’s already talk it may have been an alien spacecraft.

The drama began in mid-October, when astronomers in Hawaii detected an incredibly faint object about 33 million km from Earth. At first it seemed like just another chunk of debris left over from the creation of the planets. But as more data came in, astronomers realised the object was like nothing else they had ever seen.

Plotting out its path, they found it had swooped in from the abyss of space in early September, shooting past the sun at an astonishing 315,000 kph and was already heading back out.

Calculations revealed it was on a so-called hyperbolic trajectory, unlike the elliptical paths of ordinary comets and asteroids.

That means the sun’s gravity has never been able to hold on to the object, which must have started its journey in another star system.

This makes 1I/'Oumuamua – as the object is now officially called – the first known visitor from interstellar space.

But astronomers got another surprise when they turned some of the world’s largest telescopes onto the object for a closer look.

They were expecting it to be some kind of comet, one of the myriad piles of dust and ice known to orbit other stars.  But ‘Oumuamua appears to be something different. Despite shooting past the sun closer than the planet Mercury, it showed no sign of melting in the heat, and lacked the bright tail of a comet.

Instead, analysis of the sunlight bounced off its surface reveal ‘Oumuamua to be deep red in colour, consistent with long exposure to cosmic rays in deep space, and sometimes seen on asteroids.

But the mystery deepened again when data revealed that ‘Oumuamua is shaped like a long cylinder, around 200 to 400m long and around one-tenth as wide. No known comet or asteroid has such a bizarre shape.

As science fiction buffs quickly pointed out, however, there are striking similarities between 'Oumuamua and the centrepiece of the 1973 novel Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

In the novel, astronomers detect what they think is an asteroid plunging through the solar system at very high speed – only to discover that its trajectory points to a starting-point among the distant stars.

They then discover that the object – named Rama after a Hindu deity – is cylindrical in shape.

The parallels with ‘Oumuamua aren’t perfect. In the novel, Rama is far bigger at over 50 km long, stubbier and spins rapidly to provide artificial gravity within its capacious interior.

But that hasn’t deterred speculation that the newly-found object shares the same purpose: as an alien star-ship.

And why not? After all, many scientists are perfectly happy with the idea that aliens exist in our galaxy.  But ask them if aliens might be present in the solar system, and the question will be met with howls of derision.

The doublethink is partly the result of scientists wanting to keep their distance from the endless wild-eyed claims that UFOs are proof of alien visitation.

Yet some of the supposedly "scientific" arguments against aliens entering the solar system are pretty flimsy.

A standard put-down is that even travelling at the speed of light, it would take thousands of years to cross the galaxy. Yet this presumes knowledge of the technology available to aliens.

Contrary to widespread belief, Einstein’s theory of relativity does not forbid faster than light travel. Indeed, in 1935 Einstein himself explored the possibility of creating “wormholes” in space and time, which could create short-cuts across the galaxy.

Alternatively, the aliens may have chosen to take a more sedate trip around the galaxy in a spacecraft like Rama, which provides a home in space for thousands of years.

Another counter-argument is that aliens would have no reason to visit our solar system out of the myriad others that exist across the galaxy.

This overlooks the fact that FM radio transmissions have been streaming out into space for over 70 years – announcing our existence to the dozens of planetary systems known to exist in our stellar neighbourhood.

The fact is there are no knock-out arguments against ‘Oumuamua being an alien spacecraft. There is, however, a pretty strong reason for not rolling out the red carpet for ET any time soon. It’s based on a mathematical method for making sense of evidence known as Bayes’s Theorem.

This shows we should only get excited about the object being an alien spacecraft if its characteristics are incredibly hard to explain on the basis of any other possibility.

And on the basis of what we know of ‘Oumuamua so far – which admittedly isn’t very much -  that’s not the case.

Of course, that would change dramatically if astronomers detected, say, signals coming from the object, or found antennas or other evidence of alien handiwork.

In Clarke’s novel, astronomers resolve the mystery of Rama by sending an unmanned probe to photograph it, revealing its obvious alien nature.

There has been talk about doing the same for ‘Oumuamua, but unfortunately, it seems it’s too late for that. Calculations by Nasa experts suggest the object is travelling too fast to be intercepted using conventional rocket power.

By the end of this month, ‘Oumuamua will be beyond the reach even of the world’s most powerful telescopes, and its true nature will remain forever unknown.

Maybe we should hope it was just an inert chunk of rock. Better that than ‘Oumuamua lives up to its Hawaiian name, - “Scout from the distant past” – and returns accompanied by a Death Star from a galaxy far, far away.

Robert Matthews is Visiting Professor of Science at Aston University, Birmingham, UK

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm

Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km

Price: from Dh362,500

On sale: now

Famous left-handers

- Marie Curie

- Jimi Hendrix

- Leonardo Di Vinci

- David Bowie

- Paul McCartney

- Albert Einstein

- Jack the Ripper

- Barack Obama

- Helen Keller

- Joan of Arc

The specs

Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel

Power: 579hp

Torque: 859Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh825,900

On sale: Now

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

THREE
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The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

Moving%20Out%202
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Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

GOLF’S RAHMBO

- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)

2.0

Director: S Shankar

Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films

Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

What's in the deal?

Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024

India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.

India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.

Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments

India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery

The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK 

Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV

The%20specs
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Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
How to vote in the UAE

1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/

2) Take it to the US Embassy

3) Deadline is October 15

4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll

Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi

“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Frida%20
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