It is always scientists versus scientists or a theory against another theory, especially when it comes to space and universe. As the novel coronavirus pandemic plunged the world into a crisis, several theories — related to the origin, sustainability, and effects of the deadly virus — sprouted. Not just this. Claims of UFO sightings and the existence of aliens in some corner of a galaxy were among other revelations that amazed the world in 2020. Moreover, the recent string of appearance and disappearance of metallic monoliths in at least nine countries posed a puzzling mystery, sparking conspiracy theories on social media.

Here are some wild space theories that marked the year of pandemic, 2020:

1. CORONAVIRUS DROPPED FROM SPACE

It’s almost a year into the Covid-19 pandemic and yet, the source of the virus is yet to be confirmed. Some say it was “developed” at China’s Wuhan lab, while some have argued that it’s a bat-borne virus. But here’s a strange theory that suggests the coronavirus, which has claimed millions of lives, in fact, dropped from space, landing on Earth on a meteorite.

A study published in July this year hypothesized that the virus came from space and had reached Earth on a space rock or a meteor. The researchers said, “…It [the outbreak] actually looks like a huge viral bomb explosion took place near or over Wuhan”.

Emphasising on the unique coronavirus-origin theory, the study explained an “alternate hypothesis” that Covid-19 arrived on a space rock — “via a meteorite, a presumed relatively fragile and loose carbonaceous meteorite” — which was struck North-East China on October 11, 2019.

“A reasonable assumption is that the fireball which struck 2000 km N of Wuhan may have been part of a wide tube of debris the bulk of which was deposited in the stratosphere to fall over Wuhan,” it said.

“We then assume the viral debris and particles then made landfall in Wuhan and related regions about a month to 6 weeks later resulting in first cases of viral pneumonia caused by Covid-19 emerging in Wuhan regions late November 2019-early December 2019,” the paper read.

However, an astrobiologist, Graham Lau, had told Space.com in an interview that the theory is unlikely. Calling the theory as an “extraordinary claim”, Lau said that even though the idea is interesting, “we just don’t have any reason to embrace” it right now.

2. BIG BANG A MYTH?

No, the universe did not start with the Big Bang…There was actually a universe already existing before it and the Big Bang was merely the end of that universe, said Nobel laureate Roger Penrose. However, the evidence of that previous universe can still be observed today, he said.

Speaking to The Telegraph (UK) after winning the Nobel Prize, Roger Penrose said the Big Bang was “not the beginning…there was something before the Big Bang and that something is what we will have in our future.

Roger Penrose was awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on black holes. In its citation, the Academy said Roger Penrose was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity.”

3. ALIENS EXIT AND TRUMP KNOWS IT

The question of whether aliens exist or not has been raised time and again with several conspiracy theories supporting the fact that there might be extraterrestrial species looking at Earth from distance afar.

Recently, former Israel space chief Haim Eshed said that aliens are real and that US President Donald Trump knows about it. Eshed said that the aliens are secretly in touch with America and Israel, however, they are keeping their existence quiet because “humanity isn’t ready”.

According to a report, Eshed, who headed Israel’s space security programme for nearly 30 years, further claimed there’s a “Galactic Federation” of aliens and their cooperation with the US includes a secret underground base on Mars. He said, “Trump was on the verge of revealing [aliens’ existence], but the aliens in the Galactic Federation are saying, ‘Wait, let people calm down first’. They don’t want to start mass hysteria. They want to first make us sane and understanding.”

“They have been waiting for humanity to evolve and reach a stage where we will generally understand what space and spaceships are,” said Eshed, according to Jewish Press quoted in the report.

The Israel space agency chief’s statement comes months after Pentagon officially unclassified three videos taken by US Navy pilots showing “unidentified aerial phenomena,” known as UFOs. On April 27, the US Department of Defence said it was authorising their release, acknowledging that they had been leaked and were “circulating in the public domain”.