The interstellar interloper will now be referred to as 'Oumuamua, which means "a messenger from afar arriving first" in Hawaiian.
The name reflects the object's discovery by a Hawaii-based astronomer using an observatory on Maui.
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"U1 may provide the first direct evidence that planetary systems around other stars ejected objects as they formed," said Dr Rajagopal.
The object has also been given the more formal designation of 1I/2017 U1 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), which is responsible for naming celestial bodies.
The "I" in this formal name stands for "interstellar" object, similar to the "C" and "A" in the designations for comets and asteroids, respectively.
'Oumuamua is the first object to carry the "I" in front of its name.
Interstellar asteroid is given a name
U1: You won. "a messenger from afar arriving first"
It appears to be a dark, reddish, highly-elongated rocky or high-metal-content object.
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