Posted on 12/29/2018 7:47:52 AM PST by BenLurkin
1. We have absolutely no idea where it came from
2. We don't really know what it looks like
...tumbling through space and appears to be, more or less, cigar-shaped.... about 10 times longer than its width.
..object's brightness (or amount of reflected sunlight) varied by a factor of 10 every eight hours or so. This strongly implies that 'Oumuamua has an extremely elongated shape.
3. 'Oumuamua got a little speed boost as it approached us
Observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories noticed that its acceleration increased which slightly changed its course from what was initially predicted.
Our high-precision measurements of Oumuamuas position revealed that there was something affecting its motion other than the gravitational forces of the Sun and planets,"
"This additional subtle force on Oumuamua likely is caused by jets of gaseous material expelled from its surface. This same kind of outgassing affects the motion of many ..."
4. It's the first interstellar object we've managed to observe
5. We don't really know what it's made of
...some scientists have considered classifying the object as an asteroid. But, as described above, it may have kicked off some dust particles and/or gases, giving rise to a small speed boost at some point during its approach.
We do know that it is highly reflective. Especially given its relatively small size.
When compared to other solar system-type asteroids 'Oumuamua is at least ten times more reflective.
6. It's not going to stay around
7. It shows we are not really prepared for future Earth impacts
Its apparent near-Earth trajectory was also something of a worry. Whilst we've 'gotten away with this one', if it had hit Earth, it would have easily erased an entire city.
(Excerpt) Read more at interestingengineering.com ...
Yeah so would I ... it was briefly mentioned then dropped .. there was a photo taken through a telescope - many amateur telescopes can image as well or sometimes better than ‘professional ones through the miracle of specific software.
As I recall, the image showed a star field with the object like Oumuamua reflecting starlight or something like that. There was a blurb or something but I can’t recall what it said, as I figured at the time, we would certainly hear more ... but all of this is being swept under the astronomical consensus of thought rug. So its all gas jets, dust, reflectivity and so on. Move along.
Oumuamuas momma.
That pretty much explains how, as noted by a prominent NFL television announcer some years ago, a highly regarded quarterback's pass was able to accelerate after being thrown.
Looks like the name of an embryonic stage of another Obama coming to destroy the earth...
Papa did.
The full name is Oumuamua Shamalamadingdong.
(Snicker, Snicker!)
They could have made it easy on everybody and just named it James Carville, AKA “old snake head”
“Whilst we’ve ‘gotten away with this one’, if it had hit Earth, it would have easily erased an entire city.”
Earth abides and always remember Carl Sagan’s exacting quote “Extinction is the rule, and survival is the exception.”
They didn’t feel comfortable calling it Wormwood?
https://youtu.be/EVieCIyWO-U?t=80
(good music to accompany the animation behind the following link)
Oumuamua: new findings rejig size
(nice animation there)
https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/oumuamua-new-findings-rejig-size
Japan just landed probes on another asteroid and there are photos of others.
“Who gave it that idiotic name?”
Someone listening to a Beach Boys album?
Clue me in. I this Obama thing going to hit earth?
Here's a picture of an example of a reasonable facsimile.
Btw, Voyager 1's Back Thrusters Just Fired Up for the First Time in 37 Years [December 1, 2017]
Hmmmm.....I wonder if NASA is planning one more mission for Voyager 1?
Thank you for the additional detail.
lol...love freepers. Cut RIGHT to the heart of the matter! :-) 😄
Boy, has there been a lot of topics about this during the 14 months since its discovery.
Lots of fun to close out 2018:
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/oumuamua/index
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