The mysterious interstellar object Oumuamua is a piece of Pluto's analogue, scientists suggested

An object discovered in 2017 near the Sun, dubbed Oumuamua (scout or messenger in Hawaiian), was strange and behaved unusually. There was even a version that this is a product of alien technology. Later, astronomers agreed that Oumuamua is a comet, although it looks and behaves differently from the comets we know. But this conclusion is also wrong. New research suggests Oumuamua maybe a slice of exo-Pluto.

Artistic representation of Oumuamua. Image source: William Hartmann

American astronomers Steven Desch and Alan Jackson from Arizona State University and the School of Earth and Space Exploration have published two scientific articles that set out their own understanding of Oumuamua's nature. They studied this space object for a long time and were able to draw certain conclusions from its behavior: the speed of movement, trajectory, and brightness of the reflection of sunlight.

Judging by the speed of entry into the solar system, scientists believe, Oumuamua moved through interstellar space for significantly less than a billion years, as insisted by previous researchers. According to Desch and Jackson's calculations, Oumuamua traveled between the stars for about 400 million years. Otherwise, the entry rate would be higher.

The dimensions of the object were also incorrectly determined. Judging by the brightness of its reflection, it was assumed that the length of Oumuamua reaches 400 meters. Desch and Jackson, after a series of comparative measurements, concluded that the dimensions of Oumuamua during the entry into the solar system were much smaller - about 70 meters, and the increased brightness of the reflection is not a consequence of the larger area, but of the better reflective properties of the ice surface of the object.

What actually could be the interstellar object Oumuamua. Image source: S. Selkirk / ASU

The reflectivity of Oumuamua's surface, as calculated by astronomers, is exactly the same as solid nitrogen. We observe exactly the same nitrogen frozen to the state of ice on the surface of our Pluto. Thus, astronomers concluded that Oumuamua is, with a high probability, a piece of exo-Pluto - an analog of Pluto from another star system. The behavior of Oumuamua during the flight through our system - acceleration in the process of nitrogen evaporation from solar radiation, brightness, dynamics of movement in combination with new weight and size characteristics and surface material - all this allows us to confirm the correctness of the new conclusions. Also, by the way, like the flat shape of an object in the form of a flat remnant, which is understandable if it is a piece of nitrogen ice with water inclusions.

Oumuamua was the first object identified as interstellar. There may be many more such discoveries in the future. So, soon a survey telescope at the Vera Rubin Observatory will start operating in Chile, one of the tasks of which will be the search for interstellar wanderers of the Oumuamua type, which will allow us to look at many things in a new way.