It’s likely wrapped in organic insulation
‘Oumuamua is made up of organic ices such as frozen carbon dioxide, methane and methanol. Thanks to long-term exposure to cosmic radiation, a dark-red outer crust some half a metre thick appears to have formed over it.
It’s tumbling
Light-curve observations showed ‘Oumuamua to have wild swings in brightness, indicating an irregular, excited tumbling motion that is rarely seen in celestial bodies. It spins on its axis every 7.34 hours.
It moves really quickly
‘Oumuamua was discovered travelling at 87.3 kilometres (54.2 miles) per second. Since it was on its way out of our Solar System when it was discovered, it soon became too faint to see.
It’s a natural object
Although there had been suggestions that ‘Oumuamua could be an alien-made spacecraft, no…
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All About Space (Digital) - 1 Issue, No. 161