IT/M. Kornmesser
NASA researchers have identified seven more space objects in our solar system with similarities to the enigmatic ‘Oumuamua.
This discovery doubles the known count of these anomalous objects, which are classified as “dark comets”.
‘Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object, it was detected in 2017 by the Pan-STARRS-1 telescope in Hawaii. Unlike typical comets or asteroids, it had a strange trajectory, accelerating as if propelled by volatile gases, but displaying no visible cometary tail.
The recently identified dark comets share similarities. These small celestial bodies do not have the visible gas cloud, or coma, typical of traditional comets, but they do have large non-gravitational accelerations. These accelerations are probably caused by outgassing, in which volatile substances escape from their surfaces and act as a driving force.
The researchers categorized these objects into two distinct groups: outer and inner dark comets. The outer group is made up of larger objects, hundreds of meters in diameter, with elongated, elliptical orbits similar to those of asteroids around Jupiter.
In turn, the inner group is made up of smaller objects, typically tens of meters in diameter, which follow almost circular orbits closer to the Sun, within the range of planets such as Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. The results of the study were published in December in the journal PNAS.
Black comets were first theorized in 2016, when the asteroid 2003 RM showed unexpected deviations in its orbit that could not be explained by known forces, such as the Yarkovsky effect. Despite not having a visible tail, the object’s movement suggested that it was releasing volatile gases.
“The fact that the first interstellar object we discovered exhibited similar characteristics to 2003 RM It only deepened the mystery.”said Davide Farnocchia, NASA researcher and co-author of the study, cited by .
By 2023, scientists had identified seven dark comets. The latest findings, announced in a NASA study, bring the total to 14. The team analyzed their reflectivity and orbital patterns, finding significant distinctions between the inner and outer groups.
Researchers speculate that these objects may contain water icesuggesting its role in distributing water throughout the solar system billions of years ago.
“Dark comets may hold clues to the origins of life,” Seligman said. “The more we learn about them, the better we can understand their significance in the history of our planet.”
