Ever since scientists named the first interstellar object to enter the solar system ‘Oumuamua’, which roughly means ‘scout’ in Hawaiian. The earth never stops questioning its nature and origins.
Discovered in 2017 while crossing the solar system, the cigar-shaped comet is now on its way to the constellation Pegasus.
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‘Oumuamua moved like a comet, but did not leave the vapor trails one would normally see behind a comet. The star was also smaller than other comets, which can be several kilometers across.
This text is a translation of an article by CTV News.
Its elongated shape and other unusual features have led to several theories: alien probe, piece of distant planet, etc. However, scientists have now claimed that they know its origin and the answer is less extraordinary than previous theories. Oumuamua is most likely an interstellar comet, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
Before the arrival of the small celestial body, scientists had only observed comets that originated from the solar system and had similar properties. NASA describes these comets as “frozen remnants of the formation of the solar system, made up of dust, rock, and ice.”
As comets in the solar system orbit the Sun, they are heated by solar radiation, producing a jet of vaporous dust and gas visible from Earth, a comet’s tail
The authors of this latest study, Jennifer Bergner and Darryl Seligman, found that Oumuamua probably has a comet’s tail, but it’s simply invisible. Since ‘Oumuamua is much smaller than the comets commonly observed, Jennifer Bergner and Darryl Seligman wrote that it may have produced a jet of hydrogen gas that was simply too small and thin to be detected by telescopes.
The path through the solar system also supports this idea.
According to NASA, comet jets are powerful enough to give comets a boost in speed at certain points in their orbit, regardless of the Sun’s gravitational pull. ‘Oumuamua accelerated as it flew like a comet through Earth’s inner solar system, but the lack of a visible tail suggested it was not a comet, leaving scientists perplexed as to the source of its acceleration.
If the comet’s tail was too small to be seen but strong enough to give it a boost, scientists would say that would explain its characteristics.