Interstellar object 'Oumuamua is still within solar system - Space Explored Menu ninetofive-spaceexplored chevron-down Switch Site YouTube Facebook Twitter Instagram Follow Submit a Tip / Contact Us Toggle search" Search for: ninetofive-mac 9to5Mac ninetofive-google 9to5Google ninetofive-toys 9to5Toys ninetofive-electrek Electrek ninetofive-dronedj DroneDJ About Do Not Sell My Info Privacy Settings Launch Schedule NASA Artemis SLS Perseverance/Ingenuity International Space Station Commercial Crew Program Human Landing System Orion Gateway SpaceX Starship Falcon 9 Falcon Heavy Starlink SpaceX Fleet ULA Rocketship Delta IV Heavy Vulcan Atlas V Blue Origin New Shepard New Glenn Rocket Lab Neutron Electron Sierra Space Dream Chaser Orbital Reef More ESA Roscosmos Astra Boeing Firefly Virgin Orbit Virgin Galactic Northrop Grumman Science Defense Store YouTube Facebook Twitter Instagram Follow Submit a Tip / Contact Us ‘Oumuamua is now on its way out of the Solar System [Update] Arin Waichulis - Dec. 6th 2022 2:07 pm PT Twitter icon @arinwaichulis ScienceNASAOumuamua Comments ʻOumuamua was the first known interstellar visitor to pass through the Solar System. Since Space Explored first began reporting on ‘Oumuamua, the quarter-mile-long object passed beyond Pluto’s orbit and is now on its way out of the outer Solar System. Researchers at Harvard’s Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics made waves in the mainstream media after publishing a paper claiming that ‘Oumuamua may have had an “artificial origin” — Presenting speculation that the object could have been sent “intentionally to Earth vicinity by an alien civilization.” This theory is based on the object’s “excess acceleration,” or its unexpected boost in speed separate from the Sun’s gravitational influence. This still stumps researchers today. We haven’t learned much about the interstellar object since its discovery in 2017. One thing is for certain, though; it’s traveling fast, blistering fast. In fact, when ‘Oumuamua was closest to Earth, it was tumbling through the inner Solar System at 196,000 miles per hour (87.3 kilometers per second), according to NASA. That is over 3 times faster than the average speed of a main-belt asteroid and 109 times fast than the average speed of a bullet, however, only .017 percent the speed of light. In case you were wondering. Despite this, almost 5 years later, ‘Oumuamua is just now leaving the outer Solar System. It’s currently cruising just pasted Pluto, covering a distance of over 2,832,000 miles (4,557,662 km) every 24 hours. It won’t completely be out in interstellar space for another 2 years. ‘Oumuamua zooming through the inner Solar System in 2017. Credit: NASA The quick slingshot from ‘Oumuamua around the Sun in 2017 made observing and classifying the object difficult. To this day, we’ve yet to classify ‘Oumuamua officially. This is in part because we honestly have no idea. At first, we thought it was an asteroid—a large chunk of rock from a distant star system. Then we thought it was a comet—a cosmic iceberg flung loose from somewhere in the great unknown. Now scientists and researchers are stumped. Only left to speculate, with little data, what the cosmic visitor was as it gets further and further from view. Extra: You can track ‘Oumuamua’s current location and speed through a live tracker by @SpaceIn3Dsite found here. Add Space Explored to your Google News feed. Google News Guides NASA NASA opened for business on October 1, 1958, tasked with handling space exploration and aeronautics research in the United States. Oumuamua About the Author Arin Waichulis Twitter icon @arinwaichulis Arin Waichulis is a social media creative and writer for Space Explored. Arin Waichulis's favorite gear M2 MacBook Air My laptop! Lightweight. Fast. Seemingly indestructible. Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) Leaps better sound quality than the 1st gen Pros. Best pair of earbuds out there. NASA’s InSight falls silent, its mission complete Blue Origin forms National Team 2.0 for lunar lander Florida will be the home of SLS Core Stage assembly sta... SpaceX kicks off 2023 with rideshare mission featuring ... Space Explored Podcast 57: 2022 year in review and pred... SpaceX finishes East Coast launches for 2022 Vega-C second stage fails during launch, losing payload... AAC to develop drone using NASA’s pivoting thrust inv... Load more... Show More Comments Popular in the Community {{#values}} {{ title }} {{ username }} · {{ time }} {{ messageText }} Top Comment {{/values}} {{#isDisplay}} {{/isDisplay}}{{#isAniviewVideo}} {{/isAniviewVideo}}{{#isSRVideo}} {{/isSRVideo}}