Kiss László (Csillagászati és Földtudományi Kutatóközpont)

Alien spacecraft or celestial bodies? – Interstellar visitors in the Solar System

Abstract: In 2017, a strange celestial body passed through the Solar System. The strange shape, unusual trajectory, and interesting behavior of 1I/‘Oumuamua raised questions in many people's minds: was it of natural origin, or was it sent by an alien civilization? The debate strarted, although not necessarily on scientific basis - a renowned professor at Harvard University has been researching whether we may have encountered an artificial object. Later, more and more interstellar visitors have arrived: 2I/Borisov in 2019, 3I/ATLAS in 2025. Are these "just" comets and asteroids, or do they hide something more?
The talk will cover: How a body in the Solar System can become an interstellar traveler? Why 1I/‘Oumuamua caused such a stir in the scientific community? How shall science respond to the "ufology”? What missions are about to be launched to learn more about these mysterious objects—such as the European Space Agency's Comet Interceptor probe, which will be launched in 2029. The story of cosmic travelers is at once a scientific mystery, a thought-provoking challenge, and the beginning of a new era, in which we may expect the discovery of such objects on a regular basis. What lies in the future in this field?

About the lecturer:

László Kiss (1972) is an astronomer and member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He graduated with a degree in physics from the University of Szeged, where he was one of the founders of the newly created astronomy curriculum. He spent seven years as a postdoctoral researcher in Australia, at the University of Sydney. He returned home in 2009 to join the Hungarian Academy of Sciences' Momentum Young Researchers Program. Over the next decade and a half, he achieved everything he could in terms of rank and position in Hungarian scientific and professional life. At the age of 47, he became a full member of the Academy and also became Director-General of the HUN-REN Research Center of Astronomy and Earth Sciences. He received the Széchenyi Prize, the most prestigious award for scientists, and the Prima Primissima Prize for his research achievements and his inimitable style of popularizing science. His research interest encompasses observational astronomy from the ground and space, ranging from small bodies in the Solar System, the physics of stars and their oscilllations and the structure and evolution of exoplanetary systems. He is the Hungarian lead in the CHEOPS space telescope, which has been orbiting the Earth for six years now, providing a wealth of scientific discoveries. Space above and space within: the most puzzling aspects of our life.