The Week UK/Monica Sager: Oumuamua: what was mysterious cigar-shaped interstellar object?

The Week UK
   
World News
Oumuamua: what was mysterious cigar-shaped interstellar object?

Jul 2, 2019

Monica Sager
New study dismisses alien spaceship theory

          whatsapp
    
         
    
    

European Southern Observatory/M. Kornmesser

Artist’s concept of ‘Oumuamua

Scientists investigating a cigar-shaped interstellar object spotted almost two years ago have ruled out theories that it was an alien spaceship - but admit they still don’t know how to classify the vast chunk of rock.

See related
Scientists see black hole eating star for first time
Will Pluto become a planet again?
How and when will the Sun die?

The unusual object has been named ‘Oumuamua (pronounced oh-MOO-uh-MOO-uh) - Hawaiian for a messenger arriving from a great distance - and is estimated to be half a mile (800m) long.

And as the first object from another star system recorded passing through our solar system, it has triggered a great deal of interest.
So when was it first spotted?

Scientists tracked the reddish-coloured object from 14 October 2017 until 2 January 2018, after it was first sighted by astronomers at the University of Hawaii using a Pan-STARRS1 telescope, reports Reuters.

‘Oumuamua then became too faint to detect even using the most powerful telescopes.
What is it?

Astronomers are still uncertain about that.

“Our key finding is that ‘Oumuamua’s properties are consistent with a natural origin,” says University of Maryland astronomer Matthew Knight, author of a new research paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy. “We have tried to avoid putting it in one of those boxes and prefer to call it more generically an ‘object’.”

Experts have suggested that ‘Oumuamua might be a comet, an asteroid or a chunk of planet, but have been unable to explain its strange shape and spin, which did not follow the expected gravitational orbit.

“A paper last year from Harvard astrophysics enfant terrible Avi Loeb briefly suggested the possibility that the rock was an alien probe. It was like a spark to dry tinder, honestly, and other scientists have been running around with buckets ever since,” reports Science Alert.

Knight insists that the evidence shows the “alien explanation is unwarranted”.
Are there more out there?

“We have never seen anything like ‘Oumuamua in our solar system,” said Knight. “It’s really a mystery still... There is a whole host of natural phenomena that could explain it.”

But as Space.com notes, “astronomers anticipate spotting more interstellar visitors” as telescope technology increases.

“The Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), currently under construction in Chile, may help to reveal many of these once the instrument sees first light in 2022,” reports the specialist news site.

Knight says that until more interstellar objects are detected, there is no way of knowing whether Oumuamua is “weird or common”.

“If we find ten to 20 of these things and ‘Oumuamua still looks unusual, we’ll have to re-examine our explanations,” he concludes.

Read more: World News
Space
Science & Health
You are here:

    HomeOumuamua: what was mysterious cigar-shaped interstellar object?

Related Articles

    vatican, pope, Rome
    In Depth
    How to become a saint
    M&S
    In Depth
    What is cultural appropriation?
    Japan, Whaling
    In Depth
    Did Japan ever really stop commercial whaling?
    In Depth
    Oumuamua: what was cigar-shaped interstellar object?
    Jeremy Hunt
    Instant Opinion
    Instant Opinion: 'Hunt no longer seems the sensible option'
    Donald Trump
    In Depth
    Has Donald Trump’s presidency been revolutionary?
    Today’s front pages
    Today’s front pages: Hong Kong ‘on the brink’
    Odd News
    Hail leaves six feet of ice as temperatures hit 27C

Find Out How
With The Week Magazine
YES
Portfolio

The experts' guide to good living

    Festival of Speed: our guide to the high-octane motor show
    The Elivi Skiathos review: five-star simplicity
    Custom Line 120: a superyacht on steriods

Read more
Popular

    Electric cars: why solid state batteries will eliminate range anxiety
    Motoring
    Who will be the next PM? The latest odds and polls
    UK News
    Why Jaguar Land Rover has changed its tune over Brexit
    Motoring
    iOS 13: new features, public beta, release, iPadOS changes, mouse support and more
    Technology
    2019 sports event calendar and TV guide: what’s on in July?
    Sport

Trending Topics

    Daily Briefing
    Brexit
    52 ideas that changed the world
    Today’s newspapers: Front pages
    Back pages
    Opinion

Daily Briefing

Ten things you need to know today

    China says Hong Kong protests are ‘totally intolerable’
    Body of plane stowaway lands in south London garden
    Hunt accused of ‘macho’ posturing over civil service leave

Read more
Our Latest Offers, Competitions and Events

    Our latest offers and competitions
    Foraging masterclass and lunch with Masterchef winner
    Outstanding wines that won't break the bank

FIND OUT MORE
Back to top

    FacebookTwitter

    News
    Sport
    Business
    Technology
    Cars
    Offers
    Podcast
    Portfolio
    Subscriptions

    The Week US
    Email newsletter
    Privacy Policy
    Cookie Policy
    RSS
    Sitemap
    Contact us
    Authors
    About us
    Privacy Preferences

© Copyright The Week Ltd which is a subsidiary of Dennis Publishing Limited.
The Week incorporates The First Post. The Week™ and The First Post™ are trademarks of Felix Dennis.

    Felix DennisJobsMedia InformationSubscription EnquiresBooksAppsYour Online Choices