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Avi Loeb says 1998 KY26 is not an asteroid, disputes NASA's Jared Isaacman
Fox News • • general
Key Points:
- Harvard astrophysicist Avi Loeb challenges NASA's classification of the object 1998 KY26, arguing it is not an asteroid due to its non-gravitational acceleration and suggests it might be the lost Soviet spacecraft Phobos 1.
- NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman maintains there is no evidence to support anything other than the object being an asteroid, while scientists debate explanations including a "dark comet" or solar radiation effects.
- Loeb's team found KY26's trajectory and reflective properties align with Phobos 1, and he criticizes the lack of observed cometary features as inconsistent with the dark comet theory.
- Loeb emphasizes the need for scientific imagination and openness to new explanations when data does not fit established categories and predicts a definitive answer may come in 2031 when Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft rendezvous with KY26.
- Loeb concedes the Phobos 1 theory could be disproven if Hayabusa2 finds the object to be a natural rock or ice, but he remains hopeful that the mission will reveal a man-made origin.
