That interstellar asteroid is like nothing we've ever seen!!!!

[LongTomH]

From Phys.org: ESO observations show first interstellar asteroid is like nothing seen before:

For the first time ever astronomers have studied an asteroid that has entered the Solar System from interstellar space. Observations from ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile and other observatories around the world show that this unique object was traveling through space for millions of years before its chance encounter with our star system. It appears to be a dark, reddish, highly-elongated rocky or high-metal-content object. The new results appear in the journal Nature on 20 November 2017.

On Oct. 19, 2017, the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawai'i picked up a faint point of light moving across the sky. It initially looked like a typical fast-moving small asteroid, but additional observations over the next couple of days allowed its orbit to be computed fairly accurately. The orbit calculations revealed beyond any doubt that this body did not originate from inside the Solar System, like all other asteroids or comets ever observed, but instead had come from interstellar space. Although originally classified as a comet, observations from ESO and elsewhere revealed no signs of cometary activity after it passed closest to the Sun in September 2017. The object was reclassified as an interstellar asteroid and named 1I/2017 U1 ('Oumuamua).

.....................//snip

ESO's Very Large Telescope was immediately called into action to measure the object's orbit, brightness and colour more accurately than smaller telescopes could achieve. Speed was vital as 'Oumuamua was rapidly fading as it headed away from the Sun and past the Earth's orbit, on its way out of the Solar System. There were more surprises to come.

Combining the images from the FORS instrument on the VLT using four different filters with those of other large telescopes, the team of astronomers led by Karen Meech (Institute for Astronomy, Hawai`i, USA) found that 'Oumuamua varies dramatically in brightness by a factor of ten as it spins on its axis every 7.3 hours.

Karen Meech explains the significance: "This unusually large variation in brightness means that the object is highly elongated: about ten times as long as it is wide, with a complex, convoluted shape. We also found that it has a dark red colour, similar to objects in the outer Solar System, and confirmed that it is completely inert, without the faintest hint of dust around it."

Somewhere, Arthur C. Clarke is smiling!!!

[Laffy Kat]

1. ....

[SCantiGOP]

13. My God

It's a 15,000 ton slab of Moroccan black hashish! It's going to break up in the upper atmosphere and drop millions of half pound chunks that will already be smoking from the friction of the atmosphere. This either proves there is a God, or that some alien species has been observing us and just wants us to all chill the fuck out.

Hint: buy all the stock you can in Cheetos and Netflix.

[Igel]

2. Red Dwarf?

[defacto7]

4. Why would that rain on some parade?

I rather see an animation based on data than a snapshot that can easily be misinterpreted. It's too easy to let our imagination dissect a visual, it's difficult but more realistic to let the data draw the picture.

[defacto7]

5. Extraordinaire

[Thor_MN]

6. Good. They missed..

Although with current events, I understand why they took the shot...

[lastlib]

7. "First, there was the problem of Rama's light curve. It didn't have one...."

--Arthur C. Clarke, Rendezvous With Rama

[TeamPooka]

8. Pencil in a rendezvous with Rama in your calendar. nt

[burrowowl]

9. K&R!!!!!!

[Javaman]

10. here is a better photo of it...

[getting old in mke]

11. I just wish it hadn't appeared so (relatively) suddenly

I wish there had been enough time to mount an observation flight or even more, something similar to the asteroid retrieval mission to get a sample of extra-solar matter.

[pokerfan]

14. It might not be too late

https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1711/1711.03155.pdf

The first definitely interstellar object 1I/’Oumuamua (previously A/2017 U1) observed in our solar system provides the opportunity to directly study material from other star systems. Can such objects be intercepted? The challenge of reaching the object within a reasonable timeframe is formidable due to its high heliocentric hyperbolic excess velocity of about 26 km/s; much faster than any vehicle yet launched. This paper presents a high-level analysis of potential near-term options for such a mission. Launching a spacecraft in a reasonable timeframe of 5-10 years require s a hyperbolic solar system excess velocity between 33 to 76 km/s for mission durations between 30 to 5 years. Different mission durations and their velocity requirements are explored with respect to the launch date, assuming direct impulsive transfer to the intercept trajectory. Several technology options are outlined, ranging from a close solar Oberth Maneuver using chemical propulsion, and the more advanced options of solar and laser sails. To maximize science return decelerating the spacecraft at ’Oumuamua is highly desirable, due to the minimal science return from a hyper-velocity encounter. It is concluded that although reaching the object is challenging, there seem to be viable options based on current and near-term technology.

More in the pdf...

[Kaleva]

12. The turd of the gods.