Could a spacecraft ‘catch up’ to interstellar visitor ‘Oumuamua in just 26 years?

Could we send a spacecraft to the giant, cigar-shaped interstellar interloper ‘Oumuamua? Should we? In 2017, astronomers detected a space rock from another solar system whizzing through our cosmic neighborhood for the first time ever. The rock, called ‘Oumuamua, passed us by and sailed through our solar system leaving behind questions that remain to this … Read more

Will we ever know the true nature of ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar visitor?

Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, host of “Ask a Spaceman” and “Space Radio,” and author of “How to Die in Space.” Sutter contributed this article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. On Oct. 19, 2017, Robert Weryk, an astronomer at the University of Hawaii at … Read more