Photo: NASA
Currently on its way out of our solar system, at a distance from the Sun as far as Saturn’s orbit, the Oumuamua interstellar object has left behind a trail of uncertainty and hope among astronomers and fans of aliens.
Detected by a University of Hawaii telescope a year ago, Oumuamua has baffled the astronomers’ community. Its strange shape and its apparent changes in speed and direction have made some speculate this is an alien spacecraft, while others keep to their belief that it is just another piece of rock coming from one of four locations.
The most recent paper on the subject was published by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the Astronomical Journal. It partly backs those claiming Oumuamua is just a rock, but also raises some more questions.
The study is based on what the infrared Spitzer telescope detected, or more likely didn’t detect when looking at the object. The telescope, which can track asteroids and comets using the heat they radiate, was pointed at Oumuamua soon after its discovery and found...nothing.
But that doesn’t mean some kind of stealth technology. NASA researchers say the fact the telescope didn’t see the object points to it being too small.
Initially, the object was found to be 230 meters long by 35 meters wide. Using a spherical approach based on the Spitzer non-detection limit, NASA now says the object can have a spherical diameter of at most 1,440 feet (440 meters) or as little as 320 feet (100 meters).
And what about the change in direction and speed?
Initial speculation was that Oumuamua was outgassing, a process through which natural space bodies release gas and vapor. Either this or it uses some type of thrusters.
NASA claims this latest study backs to down-to-Earth outgassing explanation, saying such a phenomenon is consistent with the above-mentioned size limits, and expelled gas acted as a small thruster gently pushing the object forward and sideways.
Another interesting deduction of the researchers is the fact the Oumuamua was found to be “up to 10 times more reflective than the comets that reside in our solar system.” A surprising result, according to the paper's authors.
You can have a more detailed look at this latest study at this link.
The most recent paper on the subject was published by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the Astronomical Journal. It partly backs those claiming Oumuamua is just a rock, but also raises some more questions.
The study is based on what the infrared Spitzer telescope detected, or more likely didn’t detect when looking at the object. The telescope, which can track asteroids and comets using the heat they radiate, was pointed at Oumuamua soon after its discovery and found...nothing.
But that doesn’t mean some kind of stealth technology. NASA researchers say the fact the telescope didn’t see the object points to it being too small.
Initially, the object was found to be 230 meters long by 35 meters wide. Using a spherical approach based on the Spitzer non-detection limit, NASA now says the object can have a spherical diameter of at most 1,440 feet (440 meters) or as little as 320 feet (100 meters).
And what about the change in direction and speed?
Initial speculation was that Oumuamua was outgassing, a process through which natural space bodies release gas and vapor. Either this or it uses some type of thrusters.
NASA claims this latest study backs to down-to-Earth outgassing explanation, saying such a phenomenon is consistent with the above-mentioned size limits, and expelled gas acted as a small thruster gently pushing the object forward and sideways.
Another interesting deduction of the researchers is the fact the Oumuamua was found to be “up to 10 times more reflective than the comets that reside in our solar system.” A surprising result, according to the paper's authors.
You can have a more detailed look at this latest study at this link.
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