Posted on Mar 22, 2023
Scientists think they know why interstellar object 'Oumuamua moved so strangely
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https://www.npr.org/2023/03/22/ [login to see] /scientists-think-they-know-why-interstellar-object-oumuamua-moved-so-strangely
Scientists have come up with a simple explanation for the strange movements of our solar system's first known visitor from another star.
In October of 2017, astronomers in Hawaii spotted an object they called 'Oumuamua, which means "a messenger from afar arriving first," according to NASA. The reddish object was shaped like a cigar or a pancake, and was over 300 feet long. Its trajectory indicated that it had come from another solar system, traveling through the Milky Way galaxy for hundreds of millions of years before encountering our sun.
Oddly, this interstellar object appeared to be slightly accelerating in a way that normally is associated with the outgassing of some kind of material. But astronomers couldn't detect any comet-like tail of dust or gas.
Over the last few years, some speculated that the object must be made of exotic materials, and the mystery even led to suggestions that 'Oumuamua could be some kind of alien probe or spaceship.
Now, though, in the journal Nature, two researchers say the answer might be the release of hydrogen from trapped reserves inside water-rich ice.
Scientists have come up with a simple explanation for the strange movements of our solar system's first known visitor from another star.
In October of 2017, astronomers in Hawaii spotted an object they called 'Oumuamua, which means "a messenger from afar arriving first," according to NASA. The reddish object was shaped like a cigar or a pancake, and was over 300 feet long. Its trajectory indicated that it had come from another solar system, traveling through the Milky Way galaxy for hundreds of millions of years before encountering our sun.
Oddly, this interstellar object appeared to be slightly accelerating in a way that normally is associated with the outgassing of some kind of material. But astronomers couldn't detect any comet-like tail of dust or gas.
Over the last few years, some speculated that the object must be made of exotic materials, and the mystery even led to suggestions that 'Oumuamua could be some kind of alien probe or spaceship.
Now, though, in the journal Nature, two researchers say the answer might be the release of hydrogen from trapped reserves inside water-rich ice.
Scientists think they know why interstellar object 'Oumuamua moved so strangely
Posted from npr.org
Science
Space
Astronomy
Chemicals
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
...""It's just that we don't see them," she explains. "They're either small, they're dark, or they're not in a position where you can point telescopes."
In 2024, the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory should come online and open up a floodgate. "They're predicting maybe one interstellar object a year," she says.
That's a big deal, given that the closest star system to our own is over four light years away, and, with current technology, it would take thousands of years to send a probe there.
Meech notes that some researchers have already designed missions to intercept one of these interstellar travelers, which could contain clues about the composition of the star systems that formed them.
"I think what's important about this is to get all these creative ideas out there," says Meech. "If we ever get to have a mission to one of these objects, we now have a wealth of testable ideas."
...""It's just that we don't see them," she explains. "They're either small, they're dark, or they're not in a position where you can point telescopes."
In 2024, the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory should come online and open up a floodgate. "They're predicting maybe one interstellar object a year," she says.
That's a big deal, given that the closest star system to our own is over four light years away, and, with current technology, it would take thousands of years to send a probe there.
Meech notes that some researchers have already designed missions to intercept one of these interstellar travelers, which could contain clues about the composition of the star systems that formed them.
"I think what's important about this is to get all these creative ideas out there," says Meech. "If we ever get to have a mission to one of these objects, we now have a wealth of testable ideas."
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