'Oumuamua interstellar object was not an alien spacecraft

The first known interstellar object to visit our solar system was discovered on Oct. 19, 2017, by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System 1 Telescope located at the University of Hawaii’s Haleakala Observatory. The object's odd characteristics -- resembling both a comet and an asteroid -- led researchers to question what it was; there was even speculation it was an alien spacecraft.

Artist's conception of interstellar object 'Oumuamua, depicted as a cigar-shaped body. Photo: ESO/M. Kornmesser

Now, new analysis of the object -- formally named 1I/2017 U1, with a common name of "'Oumuamua" -- by an international team of astronomers and co-led by University of Maryland associate research scientist Matthew Knight has been published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

According to the analysis, 'Oumuamua's motion through our solar system is puzzling, appearing to accelerate along its trajectory -- a typical feature of comets -- but showing no evidence of the gaseous emissions that typically create this acceleration.

"We have never seen anything like 'Oumuamua in our solar system. It’s really a mystery still," said Knight. "But our preference is to stick with analogs we know, unless or until we find something unique. The alien spacecraft hypothesis is a fun idea, but our analysis suggests there is a whole host of natural phenomena that could explain it."

Observations of objects like 'Oumuamua are expected to increase when the NSF-supported Large Synpotic Survey Telescope, LSST, comes online in 2022.

"The LSST will be leaps and bounds beyond any other survey we have in terms of capability to find small interstellar visitors," Knight said. "We may start seeing a new object every year. That’s when we’ll start to know whether 'Oumuamua is weird, or common." (National Science Foundation)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Pluto’s Big Moon Charon Reveals a Colorful and Violent History

New Horizons spacecraft has returned the best color and the highest resolution images yet of Pluto’s largest moon, Charon – and these pictures show a surprisingly complex and violent history.

Life Could Exist on Moon 4 Billion Years Ago

The moon could have supported life during two windows of its history, four and 3.5 billion years ago.

ALMA and MUSE Detect Galactic Fountain

Observations by ALMA and data from the MUSE spectrograph on ESO’s VLT have revealed a colossal fountain of molecular gas powered by a black hole in the brightest galaxy of the Abell 2597 cluster — the full galactic cycle of inflow and outflow powering this vast cosmic fountain has never before been observed in one system.

Halloween Asteroid a Treat for Radar Astronomers

Scientists are tracking the upcoming Halloween flyby of asteroid 2015 TB145 with several optical observatories and the radar capabilities of the agency's Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California.

NASA announces latest progress in hunt for asteroids

NASA plans to launch the ARM (Asteroid Redirect Mission) robotic spacecraft in 2019 and will make a final choice of the asteroid for the mission about a year before the spacecraft launches.

Study Finds New Wrinkles on Earth's Moon

A survey of more than 12,000 images reveals that at least one lunar mare has been cracking and shifting as much as other parts of the Moon - and may even be doing so today. The study adds to a growing understanding that the Moon is an actively changing world.