Was 'Oumuamua, the First Known Interstellar Object, Less Weird Than We Thought?

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March 23, 2023

This week, we’re revisiting an old friend on a long, strange trip. It’s been more than five years since ’Oumuamua, the first known interstellar visitor, streaked through the solar system. Astronomers only had a brief window of opportunity in which to lavish ’Oumuamua with observations, and most of the precious few data points they managed to get raised more questions than answers about this foreign object’s true nature. One of the most enduring mysteries has been how ’Oumuamua managed to produce a slight unexpected acceleration in its outbound trajectory. Our top story covers a new study suggesting this anomalous acceleration may have been due to rocket-like plumes of hydrogen venting from sun-warmed water ice—a result that would mean that ’Oumuamua might not be so “alien” after all, and instead resembles a run-of-the-mill comet (albeit one radically reshaped by the harsh environment of interstellar space). Whatever the truth is, we will probably never know—’Oumuamua itself is now long gone, far beyond the reach of even our very best telescopes. Elsewhere, we have stories about volcanism on Venus and Mars, the possibility of human extinction, a major prize for “smooth” physics, the risks of war in space, and much more. Enjoy!

Lee Billings, Senior Editor, Space & Physics

Astronomy Was 'Oumuamua, the First Known Interstellar Object, Less Weird Than We Thought? A new study suggests that ‘Oumuamua, the mysterious visitor that whizzed through our solar system in 2017, may have been merely a small comet from another star By Meghan Bartels

Defense Space Force Humor, Laser Dazzlers, and the Havoc a War in Space Would Actually Wreak In the inaugural episode of Cosmos, Quickly, we blast off with Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno of the Space Force, who is charged with protecting our space in space, particularly from Russia and China. By Lee Billings,Clara Moskowitz,Jeffery DelViscio | 13:52

Climate Change Will Humans Ever Go Extinct? It’s probably a matter of when and how, not if, we humans will meet our doom By Stephanie Pappas

Sponsor Content Provided by Battelle Climate Resilience: Impactful Innovation is Needed Today What’s most needed right now are outcome-driven, scientific approaches committed to delivering breakthrough technologies and capabilities—ones that leverage the fundamental knowledge of the past and apply it in new mission-driven methods that reach beyond what is possible today.

Planetary Science Volcanic Activity on Mars Upends Red Planet Assumptions A mass of moving material on Mars called a mantle plume may be causing marsquakes and volcanism By Phil Plait

Planetary Science Volcanoes on Venus? 'Striking' Finding Hints at Modern-Day Activity The discovery highlights a need for future missions after NASA puts one on hold By Myriam Vidal Valero,Nature magazine

Mathematics Top Math Prize Awarded for Describing the Dynamics of the Flow of Rivers and the Melting of Ice Argentine mathematician Luis Caffarelli has won the 2023 Abel Prize for making natural phenomena more understandable and eliminating dreaded “infinities” from a calculation By Manon Bischoff

Mathematics Mathematician Wins Abel Prize for 'Smooth' Physics Luis Caffarelli’s work includes equations underpinning physical phenomena, such as melting ice and flowing liquids By Davide Castelvecchi,Nature magazine

Mathematics The World's Simplest Theorem Shows That 8,000 People Globally Have the Same Number of Hairs on Their Head Hairiness is the perfect way to demonstrate the math underlying the “pigeonhole principle,” first conceived in 1622 By Manon Bischoff

Astronomy Rare, Dust-Shrouded Dying Star Revealed in New JWST Image Before exploding as supernovae, massive Wolf-Rayet stars spew gas and dust into space, seeding the formation of future stellar and planetary systems By Allison Parshall

Quantum Physics Quantum Light Could Probe Chemical Reactions in Real Time Quantum bursts of light could help examine minute chemical reactions and reveal the quantum properties of mysterious materials By Dina Genkina

Particle Physics How Big Is a Proton? Neutrinos Weigh In A first-of-its-kind probe brings physicists one step closer to solving the proton radius puzzle By Anashe Bandari

QUOTE OF THE DAY "Deterrence is really in the mind of the adversary. The idea is to be so strong that your adversary says 'not today.' Every time they wake up: 'Should I strike the United States? Not today.'" Lieutenant General Nina Armagno, director of staff for the United States Space Force, on the military strategy of deterrence

FROM THE ARCHIVE 6 Strange Facts about the Interstellar Visitor 'Oumuamua By Abraham Loeb | November 2018

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