[quote=@Dynamics]
<Snipped quote by Disdain>

Couldn't you theoretically detect the vectors of the air particles moving around it and see if there are any others nearby to deduce the shape and contents, as well as detect the atomic vibrations of the- oh...
*Stops talking*
[/quote]

I did both of those first things. Atomic vibrations wouldn't help me actually figure out what kinds of atoms there are.