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If it’s a day ending in -y, researchers are probably arguing over the origins of the mysterious interstellar object ‘Oumuamua.
A study recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters put the kibosh on the idea that “Oumuamua is made of molecular hydrogen ice, an idea first proposed in April and reported by Fox News.
“The proposal of [Darryl] Seligman and [Gregory] Laughlin looked promising as it could explain the extremely elongated shape of ‘Oumuamua as well as the non-gravitational acceleration,’ ‘said lead author of the study, Dr Thiem Hoang, senior researcher in the Theoretical Astrophysics Group of the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI), said in a statement. “However, their theory is based on the hypothesis that H2 ice could form in dense molecular clouds. If this is true, H2 ice objects could be abundant in the universe, and therefore have implications for wide range. H2 ice has also been proposed to explain dark matter, a mystery of modern astrophysics. “
Artist’s illustration of ‘Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object spotted in our solar system.
(M. Kornmesser / ESO)
MYSTERIOUS INTERSTELLAR OBJECT ‘OUMUAMUA GETS A NEW HISTORY OF ORIGIN
Dr Avi Loeb, co-author of the new study, said the researchers wanted to test the dark matter proposition, as well as the hypotheses of the theory.
“We suspected that hydrogen-powered icebergs might not survive the journey – which will likely take hundreds of millions of years – because they evaporate too quickly, and whether they might form in clouds Molecular, ”Loeb added in the statement.
In an email to Fox News, Laughlin said the new study is “an interesting analysis” and discusses some of the issues raised by the new paper.
“I think if Hoang and Loeb have made a compelling and incisive point, there is still (in my opinion) a great chance that the H2 ice hypothesis is correct,” Laughlin told Fox News. “To be blunt, I think the most worrying concern for the H2 ice hypothesis is simply whether the dense nuclei of molecular clouds can really cool enough for H2 to start increasing on larger grains. big. The temperature must drop close enough to the microwave bottom temperature for the process to work. Fortunately, if our H2 ice hypothesis is correct, the Vera Rubin Telescope (LSST) will find more objects like ‘Oumuamua, and it will find them in time for their composition to be better determined. “
In November 2018, a study published by Loeb and others at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics suggested that “Oumuamua could be” a luminous veil of artificial origin “sent by another civilization.
An artistic representation of ‘Oumuamua, a visitor from outside the solar system. (Credit: The international Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA artwork by J. Pollard)
However, the researcher who discovered Oumuamua, Canadian physicist and astronomer Robert Weryk, said the idea that he came from another civilization was only “wild speculation.”
“Oumuamua, which means ‘scout’ or ‘scout’ in Hawaiian, was first classified as an asteroid when it was spotted in 2017 at a speed of 196,000 mph, but was recently found closer to a comet.
The place of its origin is still a mystery, although some have suggested that it may have come from the giant molecular cloud (GMC) W51, 17,000 light years from Earth. However, the researchers said that was probably not the case.
“The most likely place to make hydrogen icebergs is in the densest environments of the interstellar medium,” Loeb added. “They are giant molecular clouds.”
‘OUMUAMUA’ INTERSTELLAR VISITOR SHOULD NEVER HAVE KEPT AT HOME, THEORIES SAY
“Thermal sublimation by collisional heating in GMCs could destroy molecular hydrogen icebergs the size of Oumuamua before they escape into the interstellar medium,” Loeb continued.
Whatever the origin of ‘Oumuamua, Loeb is convinced that other objects like him will be discovered soon.
“If ‘Oumuamua is part of a population of similar objects on random trajectories, then the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (VRO), which should have its first light next year, should detect about one object of type’ Oumuamua per month. “Explained the researcher.” We will all be anxious to see what he finds. “
A second interstellar object, Comet 2I / Borisov, was discovered in August 2019.
More observable by telescope since January 2018, many have speculated on ‘Ouamumua. In addition to the theory of light sailing, some have speculated that it is a comet or an asteroid.
The mystery of its exact nature deepened in late 2018, when NASA said it had been looking in the direction of Ouamumua for two months but had not originally seen it.
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