New research shows that Oumuamua, a space object that has passed through the solar system since 2017 and caused a lot of controversy, was sent by an exoplanet rich in nitrogen ice.
Work by Arizona State University (US) indicates that Ommuamua is an icy pancake-shaped object, not a cigar as a Harvard University (US) study previously reported. , according to Sci-News.
Discovered on November 19, 2017 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope, Ommuamua is one of the most controversial objects in the history of astronomy. Ommuamua flew out of the solar system, hovered over space near Earth, visited the Sun, and left. We cannot see it directly, but only “see” through the signals, thus constructing images and physical properties based on this relatively meager data. The nature of the object is still a mystery, it is even believed to be a spacecraft from another star system sent to probe the solar system.
According to Dr. Alan Jackson of Arizona State University, they relied on a lot of data to track the nature of the object. The object’s pancake shape is flatter than anything else in the solar system. When pushed back by the Sun, it also flies as if pushed by a force greater than intended. It looks like a comet, but doesn’t produce a dusty tail like a comet. In addition, a number of strange phenomena when objects fly over the Sun have also been recorded.
The quote from the study published by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) confirmed that only nitrogen ice can Ommuamide meet the above properties, the team concluded. Nitrogen ice is what envelops Pluto or Jupiter’s moon, Triton. So this piece of ice could be sent to our world by a planet like Pluto – which is still under debate as a planet or dwarf planet.
If made with nitrogen tape, Ommuamua’s pancake shape works well as well. Objects of this material, when they fly, are often flattened, like a piece of soap that wears out with use. His rather slow cruising speed suggests he didn’t roam interstellar space for too long, possibly parting ways with his mother’s body around half a billion years ago. This conclusion also means that it is unlikely to be the spacecraft of another civilization.
The research is published in two articles in the journal Journal of Geophysical Reasearch: Planets of AGU.
