Webb Telescope Revealed First Ever, Real Image Of Oumuamua

Voyager Channel on Youtube has the story.

In the vast expanse of space, a mysterious visitor captured our imaginations and baffled scientists around the world. But while scientists and astronomers struggled to comprehend what this strange interstellar object was upon its first appearance, NASA’s James Webb Telescope has since changed this narrative. The JWST has broadened our window into the cosmos and has now unveiled the first-ever real image of Oumuamua—the enigmatic interstellar object that sparked controversy and speculation.

ʻOumuamua is indeed the first interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System. Formally designated 1I/2017 U1, it was discovered by Robert Weryk using the Pan-STARRS telescope at Haleakalā Observatory, Hawaii, on 19 October 2017, approximately 40 days after it passed its closest point to the Sun on 9 September. When it was first observed, it was about 33 million km (21 million mi; 0.22 AU) from Earth (about 85 times as far away as the Moon) and already heading away from the Sun.

ʻOumuamua is a small object estimated to be between 100 and 1,000 metres (300 and 3,000 ft) long, with its width and thickness both estimated between 35 and 167 metres (115 and 548 ft). It has a red color, like objects in the outer Solar System. Despite its close approach to the Sun, it showed no signs of having a coma. It exhibited non‑gravitational acceleration, potentially due to outgassing or a push from solar radiation pressure. It has a rotation rate similar to that of Solar System asteroids, but many valid models permit it to be more elongated than all but a few other natural bodies. Its light curve, assuming little systematic error, presents its motion as "tumbling" rather than "spinning", and moving sufficiently fast relative to the Sun that it is likely of an extrasolar origin. Extrapolated and without further deceleration, its path cannot be captured into a solar orbit, so it will eventually leave the Solar System and continue into interstellar space. Its planetary system of origin and age are unknown.

Read more here: https://www.science.org/content/article/mystery-our-first-interstellar-visitor-may-be-solved

Oumuamua: is it asteroid, comet, or alien spaceship?

"Oumuamua", as scientists christened it, was also odd in that it looked like an asteroid but behaved like a comet. Now, a team of researchers says "Oumuamua" was definitely a comet, albeit one with an unusual makeup.