A new study says that a mysterious, cookie-shaped object that entered our solar system broke from a distant planet.
Arizona State University astronauts announced earlier this month that the strange 45-meter object appears to be made of frozen nitrogen.
The study’s authors, Alan Jackson and Steven Desch, believe that a powerful force sent a piece off a frozen planet covered with nitrogen 500 million years ago. The piece was pushed out of its own star system towards ours. It is believed that the red thing is much different than his original itself, with external parts heavily exposed to radiation and the sun.
The object is called Oumuamua, a Hawaiian word meaning “messenger from afar.” He is named for the Hawaii observatory he discovered in 2017.
Oumuamua was first seen as just a small amount of light millions of kilometers away. It was found to have come from outside our solar system because its speed and orbit suggested that it did not orbit the sun or anything else.
The only other confirmed thing that came from another star system into ourselves is the 2I / Borisov comet, discovered in 2019.
Oumuamua looked like asteroid but sped along as comet. Unlike a comet, however, it did not have a visible tail. Scientists could not agree whether it was an asteroid or a comet. Some even suggested that it may be related to an alien life.
“Everyone is interested in strangers, and they were inevitable that this first thing outside the solar system would make people think about monsters, ”Desch said in a statement. “But it’s important in science not to jump to conclusions. ”
Jackson and Desch created computer models that helped them discover that Oumuamua was most likely a piece of nitrogen ice. They also found that the item was worn down slowly over time.
Both papers were published by the American Geophysical Union. They were also presented at the Lunar and Planetary Sciences Conference, held online earlier this year.
When Oumuamua was closest to Earth, it seemed to be six times larger than its thickness. That’s about the same as half an Oreo cookie, Desch noted.
Oumuamua is now more than 3.2 billion kilometers away and too small to see, even with the Hubble Space Telescope. As a result, Jackson said, astronomers must rely on the original ideas to continue studying them.
Desch noted that the object becomes thinner as it moves through space. He said in an email that Oumuamua will start leaving our solar system around 2040, that it will be “as smooth as pancake. ”
My name is Jonathan Evans.
Marcia Dunn reported this story to the Associated Press. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. The editor was Bryan Lynn.
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Words in this story
original – adj. which is from the beginning
asteroid – n. space rock, either small or the size of a large moon, orbiting the sun
comet – n. outer material made of material such as gas and ice that is left in orbit as it approaches the sun
inevitable – adj. something that cannot be avoided or prevented
jump to a conclusions – v. to gauge the facts of a situation without much information
pancake – n. thin food, like bread cooked in a pan