Animation of `Oumuamua passing through the Solar System

This animation shows the path of the interstellar object `Oumuamua through the Solar System. Unlike all other asteroids and comets observed before, this body is not bound by gravity to the Sun. It has come from interstellar space and will return there after its brief encounter with our Solar System. Its hyperbolic orbit is highly inclined and it does not appear to have come close to any other Solar System body on its way in.

Credit:
ESO, M. Kornmesser, L. Calcada. Music: Mylonite - MRP (Mylonite Recordz Production)

[sandeeeepsaggu]

Well they were definitely aliens looking for a habitable planet and when they saw us they said, "HELL NO"

[fugitive]

Very very odd. The way it moved though the soloar system was almost like it's a probe gathering information and now it's headed back or to a different star system to investigate that. Might be worth tracking this thing as accurately as we can to project it's future path?

[onecharlie]

How many millions of years before it gets another change in direction, I wonder?

[maxim]

since it's 2020, the thing might as well turn around, and crash into Earth

[fifteenbyfive]

Okay so it flew directly at the earth then turned and flew away. Surely just a cosmic coincidence...smh

[wasntanythingmuch]

1:10 aspect ratio suggests optimization for crustal penetration. Vector directly through the inner Solar System. Troubling.

[Lowness-rm]

that is an incredible gravity assist acceleration it performed by getting so close to the sun. and very curious how it would pass so close to the only habitable planet on it's way out of the solar system.

[hollykelley]

SO YOU DONT LIKE THOSE MEN IN THOSE HELICOPTERS.

[hollykelley]

I TALK TO AN ALIEN BEING FROM ANOTHER WORLD THROUGH YOUR VIDEO LOVE . THANK YOU

[hollykelley]

THIS IS WHO WE ARE, ME AND MY SISTER, WHY CANT YOU SEE THIS.

[hollykelley]

STAY IN THE AXIOM ! AND NEVER COME OUT OF THE AXIOM !!!

[RWin-fpjn]

Actually, this is quite a misleading animation. This is best viewed with a static solar system animation with only Oumuamua coming in. Only then can you actually see how terribly close it came to Earth and Earth only, which indeed makes you wonder about the probability of a random event. The eccentricity of its parabolic trajectory is extreme, a 2 sigma event for a random object (5%). But in addition, it also 'caught' Earth at precisely the correct segment of its 940 million long km orbit (intercepting us only at 24 million km). This is another 1 in 40 chance, bringing the combined probability down to 5%*0, 0, 25 = 0, 12% . And while we are at it; if this is indeed an active alien craft (I am usually very sceptic towards that) who says this thing had an incoming trajectory in the first place?? we only ASSUME this. Oumuamua was on its way out when we first saw it. Sorry, but the option of this thing just leaving is real ....

[LobEstepari]

So the thing stays in course for hundreds or millions of years just to get casually close to the only planet with life yet know, and by destiny it ejects natural gas, accelerates, changes its course and leaves the solar system just as we happen to detect it... Sure, nothing oddly weird here.. right...

[mr.speyside]

They came back to check to see if they left the stove on.

[hollykelley]

OH YOUR GOING AFTER LANGLEY AND HAWAII AGAIN...LOL

[GastonTrazo]

Great animation!!! Who is the music???

[Pilot.]

Notice how its trajectory took it on 2 close fly bys of Earth?

[jimenezisrael]

It's a sign from other beings from a distent planet that at the time of shooting that towards us didn't have the technology to travel here

[Neuwey]

The fact it was from interstellar space and it got so close to Earth really gave birth to theories it may be aliens.

[gravyboat]

We need to go after it and check it out