ASTEROIDS that fly dangerously close to Earth may be used by aliens to spy on you, according to a bonkers new study.
Space rocks and other near-Earth objects – that’s anything within 4.7million miles of our planet – could hide extraterrestrial tech, or possibly aliens themselves.
4 Asteroids that perform close flybys of Earth may be aliens spying on us, according to one scientistCredit: Getty – Contributor
They’re perfect for secretive spy operations because they’re small and difficult to track, with tens of thousands fizzing past our planet each year.
“These near-Earth objects provide an ideal way to watch our world from a secure natural object,” researcher Dr James Benford writes in his study.
“That provides resources an ETI [extraterrestrial intelligence] might need: Materials, a firm anchor, and concealment.
“These have been little studied by astronomy and not at all by the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) or planetary radar observations.”
4 Physicist Dr James Benford made the shock claims in a new study
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More than 20,000 near-Earth asteroids have been discovered so far, according to NasaDr Benford is an Alabama-born physicist who has dedicated his life to finding aliens.
He’s an independent scientist for SETI, a UFO-hunting non-profit dedicated to finding out if we’re alone in the universe.
One of the group’s scientists exclusively revealed to The Sun last month that a mysterious object approaching the Solar System may be an alien spacecraft.
According to Dr Benford, SETI and other telescope-wielding institutes should scan near-Earth objects with radar to check for spy gear.
4 Space rocks could hide extraterrestrial tech used to observe earthlingsCredit: Getty – Contributor
Nasa reckons there are more than 20,000 of the rogue space bodies – a list that’s growing every month.
Dr Benford told Live Science that aliens may have already visited Earth.
He said contact could have been made via one of the hundreds or even thousands of stars that has passed close enough to Earth in its history for a short space trip.
The two closest stars to Earth are Alpha Centauri A and Alpha Centauri B, which are around 4.3 light-years away. A light-year equals 6trillion miles.
Aliens may have spotted single-celled life forms or even the dinosaurs, depending on if and when they visited, Dr Benford added.
Even if we don’t find evidence of an alien civilisation on asteroids, studying them could still yield some promising results, according to one physicist.
“How likely is it that alien probe would be on one of these co-orbitals, obviously extremely unlikely,” Dr Paul Davies, of Arizona State University, told Live Science.
“But if it costs very little to go take a look, why not? Even if we don’t find E.T., we might find something of interest.”
The research has been published in the Astronomical Journal.
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