The quirky comet 'Oumuamua, the first interstellar object found visiting our solar system, has been the subject of fascination since being spotted in 2017, including its curious acceleration as it hurtled away from the sun.
Hypotheses were floated in light of its unexpected behavior, including fleeting speculation that it might actually have been an alien spacecraft. A new study has offered a more sober explanation - that 'Oumuamua's speed-up was due to the release of hydrogen gas as the comet warmed up in the sunlight.
Researchers said it appears that 'Oumuamua was born like many other comets as what is called a planetesimal - a small object formed in the early stages of planet formation - and was essentially a large, icy space rock. 'Oumuamua then was warmed up as it passed through our inner solar system, causing the comet's ice structure to rearrange and releasing the trapped hydrogen gas - giving 'Oumuamua a little bit of a kick as it headed away from the sun. The release of this hydrogen in a process called outgassing would not cause a visible tail.
'Oumuamua, whose name refers in the native Hawaiian language to a messenger arriving from a great distance, was first detected by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS1 telescope.
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