Discovered last October 19, the asteroid “Oumuamua”.”, which in Hawaiian means “messenger from afar who arrives first”. Eis giving a lot to talk about and research scientists at the Institute of Astronomy in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Among them is astronomer Karen Meech and her colleagues who, using data obtained by the Very Large Telescope in Chile. PThey were able to confirm that due to its great speed and trajectory, this large object, 400 meters long, comes from a solar system other than our own.
It was first seen by Robert Weryk with observations made by the Pan-STARRS telescope. when the object was 32 million kilometers from Earth.
Given the distance it had with the land it was thought to be a comet. But subsequently, thanks to more information obtained, it was reclassified as an asteroid. weeks later.
The object is longer than wide, has more brightness compared to the others. It also has a reddish color that is presumed to be caused by radiation received during its journey. He also confirmed that it possesses metals, and that is an inert object, it does not hold ice or water.
We come in peace.
Scientists by calculating its trajectory assume that the asteroid may come from the star “Vega”.” located in the constellation Lyra, 25 light-years away. It is theorized that this object may have been “wandering” in the universe for more than a hundred million years and that in the course of its journey it has encountered our galaxy.
“For decades, we have theorized about the presence in space of interstellar objects like this one. And now, for the first time, we have direct evidence that they exist.”, noted Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA's science mission directorate in Washington DC.
“This landmark discovery opens a new window to study the formation of solar systems beyond our own.”.
The first asteroid of its kind.
The question many scientists asked was: Why does this new asteroid have such a strange shape?
“One member of our team wondered if, during the formation of a planetary system, a large collision occurred between bodies with magma centers, some of this material could have been ejected and then frozen into this elongated shape,” Meech explains.
“Another thought that perhaps its shape was due to a process during ejection, for example if there was a supernova explosion, and that could have been the cause.”.
Space is a place full of secrets and mysteries., maybe from another sun someone will try to say: Hello!
Interesting, isn't it? Tell us what you think about our dear guest in the comment box.
Image: NASA Official
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