oumuamua
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Strange interstellar object 'Oumuamua is tiny and very reflective
After no small amount of mystery, we're starting to understand more about 'Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object to visit the Solar System. A newly published study indicates that the object can't be that large, for one thing. As the Spitzer Space Telescope's infrared detection couldn't catch the cigar-shaped entity, that makes it relatively small. It's likely less than half a mile (2,600 feet) at its longest. It also can't have a diameter larger than 1,440 feet, and that figure could be as small as 320 feet.
Turns out the interstellar object ‘Oumuamua is a comet after all
Last October, researchers spotted a long, skinny object speeding through our solar system, and they initially pegged it as a comet from another solar system. But as they continued to observe the object, dubbed 'Oumuamua, its properties -- namely a lack of gas and dust surrounding it -- pushed it into the asteroid category, instead. Asteroids are mostly rock, while comets contain ice that becomes visible as it's vaporized into gas and pulls dust off of the comet's surface. However, researchers have kept their telescopes pointed at 'Oumuamua and additional observations have now earned the object a comet label once again.
That cigar-shaped asteroid might be covered in organic goo
Last month's discovery of a long, thin object floating ominously through space brought about some pretty fevered speculation about the company mankind keeps in this universe. Was it an alien spacecraft? Were little green men about to visit Earth? No to both, seems to be the answer, but while researchers still aren't sure what the object -- named "Oumuamua" -- actually is, they have revealed that it appears to be covered in a thick layer of organic gunk and is icy cold on the inside.
First observed interstellar object is a speedy, cigar-shaped asteroid
Last month, astronomers running the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii spotted an intriguing object moving through our solar system and it became clear pretty quickly that the object, whether it was a comet or an asteroid, had come from outside of our solar system. Now, in a paper published this week in the journal Nature, researchers have described the interstellar visitor, dubbed 'Oumuamua, including its peculiarities as well as its similarities to objects originating in our own solar system.
