4 ms·
>It’s also our first direct look at an intact visitor (as opposed to dust specks) from another solar system. Would it not be possible to calculate the origin s
by michaelwiliamd 9y ago
>It’s also our first direct look at an intact visitor (as opposed to dust specks) from another solar system.
Would it not be possible to calculate the origin system based on speed, trajectory, star positions?
- rothbardrand 9y agoI don't think so... it slungshot around the sun, which implies that its in a very large sun oriented orbit. (eg: some random object passing bit for the first time would be likely only slightly disturbed by the suns gravity, not coming so close to it... the latter seems to imply it has been caught by the suns gravity.... or just happened to be aimed nearly directly at the sun.)
- Taniwha 9y agoNo, they distinctly say it is hyperbolic, not an ellipse, so not orbiting the sun
- dangerbird2 9y agoThe problem is that the star positions change over time via galactic orbit. 'Oumuamua's trajectory appears to originate from Vega, but Vega would have been at a different position in relation to our solar system back when 'Oumuamua was at the same distance from the Sun as Vega.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- QAPereo 9y agoNot only is the system in question dynamic, as another pointed out, but also subject to perturbations. Worse, orbital mechanics with many bodies is chaotic, in the strict sense.