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'Oumuamua' - A lifeless visitor from interstellar space

At Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory Site, Hawaii's first astronomical research observatory, Robert Werky observed an immensely small object heading away from the sun. Initially, it was believed to be a comet (C/2017 U1) and later acknowledged as an asteroid (A/2017 U1).

However, on close observation, it was found that it had no tail similar to a comet even though it was close to the sun. Typically, a comet shows a tail (dust, gas and vapour) when it is approaching sun as it starts to gain temperature. The speed with which the 'astronomical object was moving does not correspond to the speed of a comet or an asteroid. Moreover, the path of it was hyperbolic which means it could not be a part of our solar system, as typically the path is known to be elliptical. Therefore, it was ruled out that, this particular object originated in our solar system.

Taken together all the observations, it was identified as an interstellar object and named 'Oumuamua taken from Hawaiian language meaning 'scout' as it was like a messenger or scout from another star system. 'Oumuamua is small object measuring about 230 meters in length and 35 meters in width. 'Oumuamua is not travelling smoothly and it is rather tumbling at very high speed, which means it will not be imprisoned inside our solar system and will be liberated.

Artist’s impression of the first interstellar asteroid: `Oumuamua. Credit:
ESO/M. Kornmesser


Encounter with 'Oumuamua, opened up an entirely new subfield of astronomy for academics to study. Its discovery is forcing astronomers to observe and study interstellar objects in details. It will be exciting to understand the origin of such objects.

The Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4is) has launched Project Lyra for evaluating the possibility of landing on ‘Oumuamua. However, with present technology, it would be difficult to reach, as it is moving with very high velocity. It has been established that several objects like ‘Oumuamua pass through the earth’s orbit every year. If technology permits, it will be possible to land and collect samples from such interstellar object.

Discovery of interstellar objects also encourages us to find signs of life on other stars and its planets. Origin of life on the earth is still debated and it is almost impossible to know exactly how it originated. It is also suggested by some scientists, that such interstellar objects may have seeded life on earth. Normal star like Sun is unable to synthesize heavy elements. It requires high-energy detonations (e.g. Supernova) and collisions between the stars to trigger the creation of heavy elements. Therefore, it is also assumed that heavy elements came from interstellar space, possibly through ‘Oumuamua like visitors.


Though there are plans to study ‘Oumuamua, it may never be accomplished and ‘Oumuamua will leave the solar system before we could act. It still gives us optimism to find a similar object in future and utilize it to our best usage. 





Reference:
1. Where the Solar system meets the solar neighbourhood: patterns in the distribution of radiants of observed hyperbolic minor bodies. doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/sly019
2. https://i4is.org/what-we-do/technical/project-lyra/
3. www.livescience.com
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Location: Guwahati, Assam, India

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