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This framework helps us understand and evaluate the objects we encounter, especially as our observational capabilities improve. It emphasizes the importance of scrutinizing what enters our cosmic neighborhood, an area teeming with both natural and possibly artificial objects.
The Astounding Reality of Detecting Spacecraft in Our Solar System
Given that humanity has launched five spacecrafts capable of leaving the solar system—Voyager 1 and 2, Pioneer 10 and 11, and New Horizons—there's a distinct possibility that some objects approaching us could be remnants or active craft from extraterrestrial civilizations. These spacecraft have been traveling through interstellar space for decades, making us relatively "new kids on the cosmic block."