Oumuamua, an object that Harvard scientist Avi Loeb suggested was an “alien probe,” has revealed its origin through the absence of a “tail.”
Research from the University of Oxford (UK), recently presented at the UK National Astronomy Conference, argues that Oumuamua’s passage close to the Sun without developing a “tail” like other comets and asteroids is due to its chemical properties, rather than it being a spacecraft.
This has unveiled the “homeland” of this object, once suspected to be a product of extraterrestrial life: it is relatively close to us.
Oumuamua – (Photo: NASA/ESO).
Oumuamua is from another star system, evident from its orbit and many other distinctive factors. However, what it actually is remains a significant puzzle, especially its cigar-like shape and lack of a tail, which has led many to support the hypothesis of it being an “alien probe.”
According to Space, scientists at Oxford believe the absence of a tail is due to it having too many heavy elements and too little water.
The tail of gas and dust from comets is caused by water ice and some light elements evaporating as they approach our scorching parent star.
Therefore, it must originate from the thin disc of the Milky Way – specifically, our Earth’s galaxy.
The thin disc is the bright, stellar part of every galaxy we observe. Earth also resides on this thin disc, which contains many heavy elements, but fortunately, we are in a place with more water.
The protoplanetary disc of a star in the thin disc is rich in elements such as carbon, iron, magnesium, silicon, and sulfur, and is adept at attracting free oxygen atoms to form carbonic compounds instead of allowing them to combine with oxygen to create water.
Meanwhile, the thick disc, which is nearly invisible, contains significantly larger amounts of heavy elements and encompasses a vast space around the luminous disc, which many mistakenly believe to be the entire galaxy.
In addition to Oumuamua, scientists are also examining Borisov, another interstellar object that has a tail, also originating from the thin disc but from a location with more water, possibly resembling the star system where Earth resides.
Scientists are still seeking additional evidence and hope to find it when more interstellar objects fly close to us. There remains a slight risk that these objects do not originate from water-deficient worlds but may have lost water during their journey, for instance, due to cosmic rays.
