1I/2017 U1
It’s a designation that doesn’t mean much to most folks out there but to those in the astronomy field, it’s simply out of this solar system.
Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at the Haleakala Observatory on Hawaii made this remarkable discovery on October 19th, 2017. 1I/2017 U1 or Oumuamua was the first known interstellar traveler to pass though our Solar System. I say known because there are plenty of “the Truth is Out There believers” that think we are frequently visited by interstellar guests. Oumuamua in Hawaiian means, “scout”. Could this be the first of many visits or is it a cosmic anomaly?
The pattern of its tumbling rotation, its speed and the fact that no celestial body could capture it in orbit means it’s been travelling for a prolonged period of time. No scientist of computer has even the slightest guess to its origin. Its elongated shape is fascinating as well. Could it have been a shard of an exploded celestial body or could gravity have worked it over causing its pattern to stretch? Questions with no immediate answers. What we do know is the closest Oumuamua came to Earth was about 15 million miles posing no threat of an impact.
It is fascinating that within two years of Voyager II leaving our solar system as the first man made object to reach interstellar space, we receive our first known visitor from interstellar space.
Thank you for taking the time to read my original writing. I appreciate any votes and follows you are willing to throw my way.
It is probably a reconnaissance mission...
🤣
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