Pondering ‘Oumuamua on International Asteroid Day

Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of Oumuamua, an asteroid from outside out solar system. (JPL/NASA)

On International Asteroid Day, I thought it was worth revisiting an earlier video from Cool Worlds Lab on the first detected asteroid from outside our solar system. The video, “‘Oumuamua: An Interstellar Visitor,” notes that scientists have never seen an asteroid within our solar system with these cigar-shaped dimension.

Scientists now believe that more that 10,000 of such alien comments are now present in our solar system. That may offer us an opportunity for a future mission to study such an asteroid and learn about another solar system (given that the asteroids tend to stick around for about 10 years). It may also give us a better idea as whether such asteroids could have introduced life into our solar system.

This is quite a bit to ponder on this day dedicated to pondering asteroids.