Interstellar Object 'Oumuamua Believed To Be 'Active Asteroid' (theguardian.com) 15
The cigar-shaped interstellar visitor to our solar system known as 'Oumuamua could be the remnants of a larger body that was torn apart by its host star, according to researchers. From a report: The dark, reddish object that hurtled into our solar system in 2017 and was named after the Hawaiian word for messenger or scout has long puzzled scientists. Among its peculiarities is the lack of an envelope of gas and dust that comets typically give off as they heat up. Further work by experts suggested the body was accelerated by the loss of water vapour and other gases -- as seen with comets but not asteroids. The upshot was that âOumuamua was labelled a "comet in disguise." Now scientists say they have shed light on the mystery and addressed the myriad pieces of the 'Oumuamua puzzle. They say 'Oumuamua is an "active asteroid" formed from a body that was torn apart by its parent star and then ejected into interstellar space.
"Most planetary bodies ... consist of numerous pieces of rock that have coalesced under the influence of gravity. You could imagine them as sandcastles floating in space," said Dr Yun Zhang, a co-author of the new study from the Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur in France. These bodies experience a number of forces as they pass their star. "A tidal encounter between a planet or small body and a star is a tug-of-war game between the gravitational pull of the star and the self-gravity of the flyby body," said Zhang, noting that when the body passes too close to the star and enters the tidal disruption region, it can stretch and be torn apart giving rise to fragments.
"Most planetary bodies ... consist of numerous pieces of rock that have coalesced under the influence of gravity. You could imagine them as sandcastles floating in space," said Dr Yun Zhang, a co-author of the new study from the Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur in France. These bodies experience a number of forces as they pass their star. "A tidal encounter between a planet or small body and a star is a tug-of-war game between the gravitational pull of the star and the self-gravity of the flyby body," said Zhang, noting that when the body passes too close to the star and enters the tidal disruption region, it can stretch and be torn apart giving rise to fragments.
Getting awful tired... (Score:1)
This isn't simply isn't the boring reality the [unimaginative fools] think it is.
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isn't simply
Correction: simply isn't
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So, "isn't simply isn't" should be changed to "simply isn't isn't"? ;-p
I saw this on Star Trek (Score:2)
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Apparently it was manufactured by Microsoft.
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Apparently it was manufactured by Microsoft.
That's not possible. It glided right through the solar system without freezing even once. Although asronomers kept it under close observation the whole time, at no time did it spall off any failed Windows Updates.
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For the World Is Hollow
Don't get distracted.
Active? (Score:1)
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If it is or has been outgassing, then those will essentially act as thrust, which means it isn't entirely being dragged along a gravitationally-determined trajectory. Or at least that's how I read it.
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Re:Active? (Score:4, Insightful)
I take "active" to mean some sort of ongoing geological activity, whether that be internal radiation, heating from external sources (ie. the sun), any other sources of energy/pressure that means that the asteroid isn't governed solely by gravity. An inactive body will indeed just simply follow some sort of gravitationally-determined trajectory, and where external sources of energy (ie. solar wind) don't cause a large amount of drag. This asteroid seems to have been flung off by its original star, so obviously gained a helluva boost by whatever event lead to it beginning its travels (through collision and/or unstable orbit). A collision or breakup due to a close encounter with a star or other gravity well would create heat, and heat would lead to outgassing, which would alter its course considerably as it left the host star's gravity well.
Unless it's some sort of Rama, in which case I guess we'll see the thrusters firing up!
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You FOOLS! (Score:2)
https://www.inverse.com/article/9734-nameless-was-the-scariest-comic-book-of-2015
its proper name is "Xibalba" and you don't want to rendezvous with it. we dodged a bullet with this one.