Tag: ‘Oumuamua
-
Why interstellar objects like ‘Oumuamua and Borisov may hold clues to exoplanets
On October 17 and 18, 2017, an unusual object sped across the field of view of a large telescope perched near the summit of a volcano on the Hawaiian island of Maui. The Pan-STARRS1 telescope was designed to survey the sky for transient events, like asteroid or comet flybys. But this was different: The object…
-
Experts confirm that a second interstellar visitor is zipping through solar system
A two-color composite image from the Gemini North Multi-Object Spectrograph in Hawaii shows the interstellar object 2I/Borisov. Blue and red dashes are images of background stars that appear to streak due to the comet’s motion. (Gemini Observatory / NSF / AURA Image / Travis Rector) Two years after astronomers made their first detection of a…
-
‘Oumuamua’s discovery points to plethora of interstellar objects in our galaxy
This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar object discovered in the solar system, ‘Oumuamua. (NASA / ESA / Hubble Illustration / M. Kornmesser) The cigar-shaped object known as ‘Oumuamua may be the first interstellar interloper to be discovered, but it’s not likely to be the last. Statistics suggest that there are lots more space rocks…
-
‘Oumuamua, oh my! Was interstellar object actually an alien solar sail? Not so fast
An artist’s conception shows what the interstellar asteroid Oumuamua might look like. Or does it actually look more an alien light sail? (ESO Illustration / M. Kornmesser) ‘Oumuamua is long gone from the inner solar system, but the mystery surrounding the interstellar interloper has been rekindled, thanks to a research paper written by two Harvard…
-
That’s no starship … or asteroid: Hubble hints that interstellar object is a comet
News brief: Observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories indicate that the cigar-shaped interstellar object known as ‘Oumuamua got an unexpected boost in speed and a shift in its trajectory as it passed through the inner solar system last year. Scientists surmise that the source of the boost was an outflow of…
-
SETI scientists report radio silence from interstellar object but will keep listening
The Breakthrough Listen initiative uses the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. (NRAO Photo) News Brief: The scientists behind the Breakthrough Listen initiative say they haven’t detected any radio signals coming from a strange interstellar object known as ‘Oumuamua, but there are still more observations to be made and analyzed. About 90 trillion bytes of…
-
Breakthrough Listen will check interstellar object just to make sure it’s not a starship
An artist’s conception shows what the interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua might look like. (ESO Illustration / M. Kornmesser) Is that cigar-shaped, fast-moving interstellar object a spaceship? Almost certainly not, but Breakthrough Listen will check just to make sure. The Breakthrough Listen campaign, which checks celestial targets for radio signals from intelligent civilizations, will turn the Green Bank…
-
An interstellar interloper is dashing through our solar system
Artist’s concept of interstellar asteroid 1I/2017 U1 (‘Oumuamua) as it passed through the solar system after its discovery in October 2017. The aspect ratio of up to 10:1 is unlike that of any object seen in our own solar system. Image credit: European Southern Observatory / M. Kornmesser Astronomers say an object observed speeding through…
-
Aloha, ‘Oumuamua! Scientists confirm that interstellar asteroid is a cosmic oddball
An artist’s conception shows what the interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua might look like. (ESO Illustration / M. Kornmesser) Update: Scientists say the interstellar asteroid known as ‘Oumuamua is like nothing that’s been seen in the solar system before, with an “extreme oblong shape” that’s as much as 10 times as long as it is wide. The…