[ weird things ] | dial x for an astronomical ufo conspiracy

dial x for an astronomical ufo conspiracy

Ufologists seem convinced that NASA is trying to distort an image showing a gigantic alien spaceship shaped like an X floating through the solar system.
planetkiller
Illustration by Marcin Jakubowski

Give the web’s UFO enthusiasts another notch in the belt for discovering NASA’s attempt to hide a mysterious alien spacecraft captured by the Hubble orbital telescope and filed as an asteroid collision which left a highly distinctive trail shaped like an X. Or if you’re a conspiracy theorist, like a trident and obviously, a huge node of an extraterrestrial craft which appears to be roughly the size of the American Southwest from tip to what we should assume to be the engines extending far beyond the supposed node. One wonders how you would be able to analyze the rather blurry image to make sure it was really an alien craft rather than just debris from the comfort of a home office using just a few image filters, but it seems that if you play the conspiracy card, all that matters is claiming a UFO and every fuzzy outline and blurry shape are undeniable proof of alien presence…

For the sake of argument, let’s play around with the idea that the orbital telescope caught a blurry glimpse of a massive alien craft. Considering its sheer size, the civilization that would have to build it must be hundreds, if not thousands of years ahead of us technologically. Besides having to put together trillions of tons of material into a working ship and powering it up with enough reactors to provide energy to half the Earth’s population at peak demand hours, its designers would have to work around the curvature of their home planet to build what amounts to a small, floating continent. Yes, when we account for the physical requirements of traveling across interstellar space we’ll end up with a huge ship comparable in size to our tallest skyscrapers. But this seems like a pretty major overkill and should raise a lot of questions unlikely to have an uplifting answer. Something this big could be used to transport anentire army, or a planet’s population. If they set their sights on our solar system, what do they want and what would it mean for us?

We should also take into account the very likely rarity of alien civilizations that could build spaceships like this hypothetical craft, their potential aversion to making contact with us, and how short ufologists tend to fall when it comes to providing solid evidence for their claims. Regardless of how old or wise alien empires might be, or how fair technology manages to advance during their existence, they’ll be still be subject to basic laws of biology and physics and any proof for their existence has to be more than a blurry image, promises of grand revelations to come, and indignant rants in response to any critique of their proclamations.

But none of this matters to ardent ufologists. They need there to be proof of alien spacecraft visiting our planet, something to convince them that they’re not alone in the universe and that enlightenment from above will rain down from the heavens in the form of advanced alien technology from benevolent extraterrestrials. Alternatively, they’ll be perfectly happy to live in a world of government cover-ups and secret alien plots which is a far more exciting place than the dull routine with which many of us have to deal in our daily lives.

# oddities // alien contact / astronomy / ufology


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