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The origin and identity of a massive space object that surpassed Earth in 2017, named "Oumuamua", remains a mystery that strongly indicates that it came from another star system, making it the first interstellar object ever discovered.

A few researchers, including Harvard University astronomer Avi Loeb, assumed that the object was an alien spacecraft. Others suggested that it was an asteroid, or perhaps an interstellar comet.

Now, a pair of papers published in the American Geophysical Union offers another theory: Oumuamua is a fragment of a small planet in a different solar system.

Stephen Desch, an astrophysicist at Arizona State University and one of the authors of the new study, said in a press release: "We may have solved the mystery of what" Oumuamua "is, and we can reasonably define it as part of" Pluto Exo, "a planet similar to Pluto in the solar system. else".

Dish and colleagues believe that half a billion years ago, a space object struck the parent planet 'Oumuamua', causing 'Oumuamua' to gravitate towards our solar system. As it approached the sun, "Oumuamua" accelerated as sunlight evaporated its icy body, and comets followed a similar pattern of motion, known as the "rocket effect". "

Because the composition of "Oumuamua" is unknown, the researchers calculated the types of ice that could change from solid to gaseous at a rate that could explain the effect of the "Oumuamua" missile. They concluded that the object is likely to be made of nitrogen ice, such as the surface of Pluto and Neptune's moon "Triton".

As he got close to our solar system - and thus the sun - 'Oumuamua' began to throw out the frozen layers of nitrogen. The body entered our solar system in 1995, although we did not realize it at the time, then lost 95% of its mass and melted away, according to the authors of the study.

By the time astronomers realized the existence of "Oumuamua" in 2017, it was already moving away from Earth at a speed of 315,431 km / h. So they only had a few weeks to study the UFO.

Several telescopes on Earth and one in space took limited observations as the object flew away, but astronomers were unable to fully examine it. Oumuamua is now too far away and too dim to be monitored further with current technologies.

The limited nature of the information gathered left room for scientists to make guesses about what the object was and where it came from. Oumuamua was initially classified as a comet, but it did not appear to be made of ice, and it did not emit gases like a comet does.

Oumuamua's rotation, speed and trajectory cannot be explained by gravity alone, indicating that it is not an asteroid either. The shape and profile of the object - about a quarter of a mile long but only 34.75 meters wide - does not match any comet or asteroid observed before.

According to the authors of the new study, the frozen nitrogen formula of "Oumuamua" could explain this figure.

"As the outer layers of nitrogen ice evaporate, the body gradually becomes flatter, just as a bar of soap does when the outer layers are rubbed through use," said Alan Jackson, another co-author of the study.

And unlike most space rocks, 'Oumuamua' appeared to be accelerating, rather than slowing, in telescope observations. This is partly why Loeb believed "Oumuamua was an alien spacecraft". In a book he published in January titled "Extraterrestrial: The First Signal of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth," Loeb describes "Oumuamua as a dead piece of space technology."

However, a 2019 study from an international group of astronomers analyzed all available 'Oumuamua' data and concluded that Loeb's theory is unlikely.

The astronomers wrote: “We did not find any convincing evidence in favor of a spatial interpretation of 'Oumuamua”.

Source: ScienceAlert

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