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Was Oumuamua a “Cosmic Dust Bunny”?

Oumuamua

Ever since it floated through our cosmic neck of the woods, the interstellar visitor ‘Oumuamua has intrigued and perplexed scientists. Now, a new theory has emerged that the cigar-shaped space rock might actually be a dust bunny. Here on Earth, “dust bunnies” are clumps of accumulated dust and debris held together by static electricity that float around under furniture, pushed by passing breezes. But, the scientists behind a new study suggest that ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object ever spotted in our solar system, could be (basically) a scaled-up dust bunny. The study, led by Jane Luu, an astronomer at the … Read more

Could Oumuamua Be Alien Tech?

Oumuamua

‘Oumuamua — a mysterious, interstellar object that crashed through our solar system two years ago — might in fact be alien technology. That’s because an alternative, non-alien explanation might be fatally flawed, as a new study argues. But most scientists think the idea that we spotted alien technology in our solar system is a long shot. In 2018, our solar system ran into an object lost in interstellar space. The object, dubbed ‘Oumuamua, seemed to be long and thin — cigar-shaped — and tumbling end over end. Then, close observations showed it was accelerating, as if something were pushing on … Read more