4 ms·

I don't get it. Why don't we image this thing directly?

dboreham 6y ago
It gone.
craigching 6y ago
We have! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ʻOumuamua https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ʻOumuamua But it’s small and moving away from us fast. We couldn’t build anything in time that could catch up to it and image it closer.
- jacobush 6y ago
  Politically no. When we first saw it, technically maybe yes. In an all stops pulled scenario, an improvised rocket could have been sent and at last had a fly-by look. Now... doubtful it could be done at all.
- avian 6y ago
  > We couldn’t build anything We could, but we didn’t. https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.03155 https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.03155
- person_of_color 6y ago
  Interesting. The trajectory of O'uamuamua seems almost.. designed to scout the Sun's habitable zone. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Oumuamua-solar_system-ecliptic-normals.png/1024px-Oumuamua-solar_system-ecliptic-normals.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Ou...
  - postalrat 6y ago
    I think the theory is that it wasn't really moving relative to the sun and kinda just fell in.
- Nicksil 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ʻOumuamua https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ʻOumuamua
- misanthropian00 6y ago
  A nuclear pulse vehicle could catch it easily even if we waited 50 years to launch. Its slow speed is actually the best argument against it really being an active spacecraft because even we could do better. Much better. It could be part of a swarm of millions of low tech ships assembled from local resources though.
Sharlin 6y ago
Uh, because of the most obvious reason that comes to mind: it's way too small and way too far away! Even when it was discovered, near the perihelion of its hyberbolic orbit, it was small enough that we had no way whatsoever actually resolving it as anything else than a point of light. We could only guesstimate its rough shape by measuring its light curve—how its brightness changes as it rotates—and then simulating what kind of shape would produce that light curve. And now it's already way beyond Saturn's orbit, almost 100 times farther away than when it was discovered.
- api 6y ago
  Could the JWST see it? It goes up soon.
  - dwighttk 6y ago
    Lol Soon
  - twirlip 6y ago
    For a broad value of soon.
  - jcims 6y ago
    Will that be the most valuable asset put in space on one lunch? Aside from stuff we don’t know about of course?
    - xchaotic 6y ago
      Obligatory joke about putting IP lawyers in high orbit first.

It gone.

We have! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ʻOumuamua https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ʻOumuamua But it’s small and moving away from us fast. We couldn’t build anything in time that could catch up to it and image it closer.

jacobush 6y ago
Politically no. When we first saw it, technically maybe yes. In an all stops pulled scenario, an improvised rocket could have been sent and at last had a fly-by look. Now... doubtful it could be done at all.
avian 6y ago
> We couldn’t build anything We could, but we didn’t. https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.03155 https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.03155
person_of_color 6y ago
Interesting. The trajectory of O'uamuamua seems almost.. designed to scout the Sun's habitable zone. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Oumuamua-solar_system-ecliptic-normals.png/1024px-Oumuamua-solar_system-ecliptic-normals.png https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Ou...
- postalrat 6y ago
  I think the theory is that it wasn't really moving relative to the sun and kinda just fell in.
Nicksil 6y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ʻOumuamua https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ʻOumuamua
misanthropian00 6y ago
A nuclear pulse vehicle could catch it easily even if we waited 50 years to launch. Its slow speed is actually the best argument against it really being an active spacecraft because even we could do better. Much better. It could be part of a swarm of millions of low tech ships assembled from local resources though.

Sharlin 6y ago

Uh, because of the most obvious reason that comes to mind: it's way too small and way too far away! Even when it was discovered, near the perihelion of its hyberbolic orbit, it was small enough that we had no way whatsoever actually resolving it as anything else than a point of light. We could only guesstimate its rough shape by measuring its light curve—how its brightness changes as it rotates—and then simulating what kind of shape would produce that light curve. And now it's already way beyond Saturn's orbit, almost 100 times farther away than when it was discovered.

api 6y ago
Could the JWST see it? It goes up soon.
- dwighttk 6y ago
  Lol Soon
- twirlip 6y ago
  For a broad value of soon.
- jcims 6y ago
  Will that be the most valuable asset put in space on one lunch? Aside from stuff we don’t know about of course?
  - xchaotic 6y ago
    Obligatory joke about putting IP lawyers in high orbit first.