The Mystery of Alleged Alien Object 'Oumuamua Has Been Solved, Scientists Say

The first interstellar object ever discovered in our solar system, known as ‘Oumuamua, has attracted immense interest and controversy since it was spotted in October 2017. Though this weird object is long gone, having since sped back into the interstellar wilds, a raucous debate over its origin has persisted here on Earth, driven in part by speculation among some scientists that the object could have been an alien artifact instead of a natural entity.

Now, a pair of scientists have presented a robust natural explanation that accounts for ‘Oumuamua’s strangest behaviors, including its puzzling speed boost as it hurtled through the solar system. The new research suggests that the object’s many years in interstellar space left it with an abundance of molecular hydrogen, which was transformed into gas in the presence of the Sun.

This specific mechanism could finally thread the needle between the acceleration of ‘Oumuamua and the lack of hallmark signs of so-called “outgassing” events that are associated with similar speed bursts observed in solar system objects. To that end, the “mechanism can explain many of ‘Oumuamua’s peculiar properties without fine-tuning” and “provides further support that ‘Oumuamua originated as a planetesimal relic broadly similar to Solar System comets,” according to a study published on Wednesday in Nature.

“Given the information that we have, I think that this is our best hope of explaining ‘Oumuamua without having to resort to more sensational ideas, or, as we might say in the science community, ‘fine-tuned’ ideas,” said Jennfer Bergner, an assistant professor of chemistry at the University of Berkeley who led the study, in a call with Motherboard. “We're excited about this idea because it seems very generic, and a natural explanation for a process that should be happening anyways.”

https://www.vice.com/en/article/3akzjk/oumuamua-aliens-mystery-solved

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