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posted by janrinok on Sunday November 19 2017, @02:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the not-so-catchy-name dept.

The solar system's first "interstellar interloper" has been named 1I/ʻOumuamua. It is the first known "hyperbolic asteroid" from outside the solar system:

The first known asteroid to visit our Solar System from interstellar space has been given a name. Scientists who have studied its speed and trajectory believe it originated in a planetary system around another star.

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. It was discovered on 19 October this year by Rob Weryk, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.

[...] Scientists who have made observations of 'Oumuamua, say that despite its exotic origins, the asteroid is familiar in appearance. In a paper submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters, they argue that its size, rotation, and reddish colour are similar to those of asteroids in our Solar System. Measuring about 180m by 30m, it resembles a chunky cigar.

"The most remarkable thing about ['Oumuamua'] is that, except for its shape, how familiar and physically unremarkable it is," said co-author Jayadev Rajagopal from the US National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO).

Also at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory and Scientific American.

Previously: Possible Interstellar Asteroid/Comet Enters Solar System


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  • (Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday November 19 2017, @02:46AM (1 child)

    by frojack (1554) on Sunday November 19 2017, @02:46AM (#598824) Journal

    "The most remarkable thing about 'Oumuamua' is that nobody can pronounce it.

    Even people who SHOULD know" https://twitter.com/elakdawalla/status/927936471608188928 [twitter.com]

    --
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @07:39AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 19 2017, @07:39AM (#598873)

    What if this space rock finds out, gets angry that we named it something it doesn't like, and crashes into the Earth in blind fury?