Oumuamua...anything new here?

I saw an article today that mentioned Oumuamua in passing and it got me wondering.


Has there ever been any satisfactory scientific explanations for this large interstellar traveler? We know it's not a comet, so...

1 - Where did it come from? It simply showed up one day and blew through our solar system, then left - quickly.

2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?


I know that at least one group of Harvard astronomers believe it is an alien probe.

Harvard scientists: Strange asteroid could be an alien 'probe'

Does anyone have any thoughts or new/better information??

It intrigues the hell out of me...

a reply to: Riffrafter

2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?

It didn't increase its speed. It just didn't slow down quite as much as it should have. The effect was very slight and has been attributed to outgassing.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

the first one was seen after sneaking to our system

this new one was caught incoming......2 months ago or more idk... cool

The thing about aliens... It's never aliens

originally posted by: odzeandennz
The thing about aliens... It's never aliens

Sort your hair out. It’s ALWAYS aliens.

a reply to: Riffrafter
It could also be the first part of a very large asteroid field and it would be signifying that it is getting ready to rain.

originally posted by: Riffrafter
I know that at least one group of Harvard astronomers believe it is an alien probe.

"new research has concluded, absolutely, positively not an alien spaceship.

OK, well, probably not."

Astronomers Have Analysed Claims 'Oumuamua's an Alien Ship, And It's Not Looking Good

Interstellar object 'Oumuamua - that strange, cigar-shaped chunk of rock from somewhere a vast distance beyond the Solar System - is, new research has concluded, absolutely, positively not an alien spaceship.

OK, well, probably not. We can't tell for sure without closely examining the thing, and it's passed beyond our reach now. But, after carefully reviewing all our observations of the object, the international team of 'Oumuamua scientists has concluded that everything we know about it is consistent with a natural origin.

It was an interesting object anyway.

originally posted by: Riffrafter
We know it's not a comet, so...

I think this kind of binary thinking is a problem, and I'm not the only one...

Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid

One takeaway for a number of astronomers is that space rocks don’t necessarily fit into one of two wholly separate categories. “There’s much more of a gradation between what’s a comet and what’s an asteroid,” said Michele Bannister, an astronomer at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. “I feel like we’re fighting over an unnecessary binary here.”

originally posted by: odzeandennz
The thing about aliens... It's never aliens

Right, it's never aliens...until it is.

Rama
"They do everything in threes"
Arthur C. Clarke

Alien Rule No 1. Always turn off the engines before the flyby so aliens arn't aware of your presence.

originally posted by: Riffrafter
I saw an article today that mentioned Oumuamua in passing and it got me wondering.


Has there ever been any satisfactory scientific explanations for this large interstellar traveler? We know it's not a comet, so...

1 - Where did it come from? It simply showed up one day and blew through our solar system, then left - quickly.

2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?


I know that at least one group of Harvard astronomers believe it is an alien probe.

Harvard scientists: Strange asteroid could be an alien 'probe'

Does anyone have any thoughts or new/better information??

It intrigues the hell out of me...

Fact Harvard Scientists are susceptible to the probability make it interesting.
It could be an alien ship that just lost, but time, distance, and space and whatever who knows, keeps moving it around the solar system. Or maybe there even some energy, its on autopilot that enables it to travel still?

I think it's just a rock. Humans tend to over analyze things to fit their assumptions and agendas, that is known.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Riffrafter

2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?

It didn't increase its speed. It just didn't slow down quite as much as it should have. The effect was very slight and has been attributed to outgassing.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

I hear you, Phage - but the article I read clearly said it was accelerating - not appearing to accelerate.

Also, if it's not a comet - what exactly is outgassing? Do asteroids outgas at all? It has been described as a flat, odd shaped *asteroid* by astronomers who aren't signing on with the Harvard astrophysicists. Don't shoot me - I'm only the messenger in this case, but your thoughts are appreciated as I know you're more knowledgeable than the "average bear" in these matters.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: Riffrafter

2 - How was it able to increase its speed as it was leaving? Huh?!?

It didn't increase its speed. It just didn't slow down quite as much as it should have. The effect was very slight and has been attributed to outgassing.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Its acceleration can't be attributed to outgassing according to this link;

www.nasa.gov...

Comets normally eject large amounts of dust and gas when warmed by the Sun. But according to team scientist Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory, “there were no visible signs of outgassing from ′Oumuamua, so these forces were not expected.”

originally posted by: jamespond
Its acceleration can't be attributed to outgassing according to this link;

www.nasa.gov...

Comets normally eject large amounts of dust and gas when warmed by the Sun. But according to team scientist Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory, “there were no visible signs of outgassing from ′Oumuamua, so these forces were not expected.”

So you post a link that says this:

“This additional subtle force on ′Oumuamua likely is caused by jets of gaseous material expelled from its surface,” said Farnocchia.

And then you say "Its acceleration can't be attributed to outgassing according to this link"

Have you had your morning coffee yet?

By the way, air is more or less invisible (if there's no smog or dust in it), so just because you can't see a gas doesn't mean it's not there. So the part you quoted just means there wasn't enough particulate in the outgassing to make it visible, it doesn't mean there's no outgassing.

You are misinterpreting the word "acceleration."

Non-gravitational acceleration simply means it is moving faster than it would if only gravity was a factor. Even when it decelerates as it moves away from the sun, if that deceleration is less than what the sun's gravity would cause, then that means there must be something accelerating it.

Think of it this way:
Make the expected deceleration from the sun's gravity alone the baseline speed it should have; call that "speed zero" for any given point through the solar system. Any speed above that zero baseline would mean it had a net acceleration over speeds expected due to the sun's gravity.

Comets, which slow down as they move away from the sun, can be said to have non-gravitation acceleration. The outgassing of comets can make them slow down less than the expected gravitational pull on a similarly sized non-comet body. That is, it accelerates.

originally posted by: Riffrafter
Also, if it's not a comet - what exactly is outgassing? Do asteroids outgas at all? It has been described as a flat, odd shaped *asteroid* by astronomers who aren't signing on with the Harvard astrophysicists. Don't shoot me - I'm only the messenger in this case, but your thoughts are appreciated as I know you're more knowledgeable than the "average bear" in these matters.

Comets and asteroids, while distinct, are more alike than was once thought a few decades ago. There are known objects classified as asteroids that exhibit comet-like outgassing. Oumuamua is believed to have exhibited enough outgassing to alter its expected movements, but not enough for a coma to be remotely detected.

That, possibly in combination with some push due to radiation pressure, may have caused it to move faster than the expected gravitationally affected baseline speed.

It was also remarked that if the acceleration seen in 'Oumuamua was due to outgassing, this should have visibly affected its rate of rotation. But this was apparently not observed.

a reply to: Riffrafter

Here's a link to an Arxiv preprint about it.


Could Solar Radiation Pressure Explain 'Oumuamua's Peculiar Acceleration?

They try to understand possible causes of the excess speed and examine if the acceleration could be explained even if it was an actual solar sail. Also an examination of the apparent surface color(s)... Its not a bad read.

-Driver

originally posted by: Arbitrageur

originally posted by: jamespond
Its acceleration can't be attributed to outgassing according to this link;

www.nasa.gov...

Comets normally eject large amounts of dust and gas when warmed by the Sun. But according to team scientist Olivier Hainaut of the European Southern Observatory, “there were no visible signs of outgassing from ′Oumuamua, so these forces were not expected.”

So you post a link that says this:

“This additional subtle force on ′Oumuamua likely is caused by jets of gaseous material expelled from its surface,” said Farnocchia.

And then you say "Its acceleration can't be attributed to outgassing according to this link"

Have you had your morning coffee yet?

By the way, air is more or less invisible (if there's no smog or dust in it), so just because you can't see a gas doesn't mean it's not there. So the part you quoted just means there wasn't enough particulate in the outgassing to make it visible, it doesn't mean there's no outgassing.

Ok well you should probably write into the European Southern Observatory and let them know they got it wrong. I'm sure they'll be pleased to get a bit of free schooling.

a reply to: jamespond

Ok well you should probably write into the European Southern Observatory and let them know they got it wrong.

Did they? Olivier R. Hainaut of ESO (among other authors of this study) seems to think it was outgassing.

Exploring a variety of possible explanations for the detected non-gravitational acceleration, we find outgassing to be the most physically plausible explanation, although with some caveats. A thermal outgassing model, which treatsʻOumuamua like a common cometary nucleus, creates a non-gravitational force proportional tor–2in the range of distances covered by our observations.

The lack of observed dust lifted from the object by the hypothesized cometary activity can be explained by an atypical dust grain size distribution that is devoid of small grains, a low dust-to-ice ratio or surface evolution from its long journey. However, these important aspects of ʻOumuamua’s physical nature cannot be resolved conclusively with the existing observations.

www.eso.org...


And to be clear, I have never said that Oumuamua is not an alien ship.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: jamespond

And to be clear, I have never said that Oumuamua is not an alien ship.

That's all i needed to know