Scientists claim to have known the mysterious object that was observed flying through space. The space rock was spotted in 2017 and eventually called Oumuamua, which has been hurtling the solar system of the Earth.
A report from acclaimed astronomers of NASA, the European Space Agency and the German Max Planck Institute for Astronomy was released this week, revealing the origins of the cigar-shaped asteroid that was first noticed in October 2017.
The space rock was named by the site who first observed it and is the Hawaiian for a messenger from afar arriving first.
The report mentions that a high-powered telescope in Hawaii discovered a fast-moving object on an unbound orbit close to the Earth.
The report describes Oumuamua as a metallic or rocky object, around 400 metres in length and approximately 40 metres wide.
It also claims that the object has a density similar to a comet and has a dark red surface, which may suggest either an organic-rich surface identical to the outer solar system asteroids and comets or a surface similar to the dark side of Saturn’s moon Iapetus, containing minerals with nanoscale iron.
According to the report, Oumuamua left its home when it was ejected during planet formation and migration millions of years ago and has been linked to four possible star systems.
The report also mentions that Oumuamua moved faster than the existing laws of celestial mechanics. The Astrophysical Journal has been accepted the report.
When Oumuamua was first discovered, scientists could not explain precisely the long, thin asteroid flying so close to Earth.
The discovery sparked suggestions that the strange rock was an alien spaceship or probe exploring our solar system.
The only uncontested fact is that Oumuamua is the first object ever spotted flying into our solar system from deep space.
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