An unprecedented astronomical discovery occurred in 2017: 33 million kilometers from Earth an object was moving towards the inner solar system at incredible speeds. Its trajectory and speed place its origin outside the solar system. This foreign visitor was baptized as Oumuamua, it is the first interstellar comet, that is, the first object to enter our solar system from beyond its limits.
Since then, Oumuamua has excited the imaginations of science fans, putting astronomers from around the world to work to elucidate its origin. What puzzles scientists most are its peculiar characteristics. In addition to its speed, which accounts for its distant origin, it has a strange shape, it lacks a tail, and its rotation is chaotic.
In addition, there is its composition, essentially metal: astronomers hoped that the first interstellar object they would detect was a frozen body, like those that populate the Oort cloud, a reserve of comets in the confines of our solar system. However, Oumuamua is a ‘dry’ body; and, in addition, it does not have a tail, as would be expected for bodies that approach a star, heated by it. Oumuamua’s appearance indicates a different ejection scenario.
Oumuamua does not resemble any known object.
From there, the scientists emit different hypotheses about the origin of Oumuamua: since it may be a remnant of a much larger comet, until it is an artificial object, coming from some larger alien structure. The controversy is served.
The most recent debate about the origin of Oumuamua took place a few days ago, when a study refuted the hypothesis, issued last June, that the comet could, in fact, be a hydrogen iceberg.
In this gallery, we tell you everything we know about Oumuamua, the first interstellar comet, and the different hypotheses about its origin.
