Scientists Attempt to Answer , Lingering Questions About , Oumuamua.<br />In 2017, astronomers observed the first interstellar object <br />to pass through our solar system, naming it Oumuamua, <br />or "messenger from afar arriving first” in Hawaiian.<br />CNN reports that the object's trip through <br />our solar system gave rise to a number of <br />questions that have remained unanswered.<br />While the object was roughly<br /> the size of an asteroid, it was oddly shaped, <br />similar to a cigar or pancake. .<br />CNN reports that while Oumuamua moved <br />somewhat like a comet, it also lacked a cometary <br />tail and was much smaller that known comets.<br />Most perplexing of all was that <br />the object appeared to accelerate <br />on its way out of our solar system.<br />On March 22, a new study was published <br />in the journal 'Nature,' which attempts to <br />answer some of those lingering questions.<br />A new theory to explain the object's acceleration <br />centers on Oumuamua being a water-rich <br />comet containing high amounts of hydrogen.<br />According to the new theory, that hydrogen was trapped <br />inside bubbles within the comet's icy interior before <br />being released by heating from passing by our sun.<br />The team behind the new theory believe <br />that the release of hydrogen gas could have <br />been enough to accelerate the object. .<br />In 2025, Chile's Vera C. Rubin Observatory will begin operations, aiming to detect and hopefully unravel the mystery of other interstellar travelers like Oumuamua.
