Public talk - Chasing the alien: Investigating the first Interstellar Object I1/2017 U1

  • Alan Fitzsimmons (Invited speaker)

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Public lecture/debate/seminar

Description

On 19 October 2017 an Interstellar Object was discovered passing through our Solar system, the first alien visitor ever seen. With little warning, astronomers had only a few days to study it before it became too faint for detailed investigation, even when using the world’s largest telescopes. Our studies have revealed a body that matched some of our expectations, but that differed significantly in other aspects. We have gained considerable insight into our visitor, now named ‘Oumuamua, but many questions remain. In this talk I will explain why we expected to see something like ‘Oumuamua at some point, what we have discovered about the first object to visit us from another star, and what we might expect to find in the future.
Period27 Jan 2018
Event titleGalway Astrofest 2018: Ireland’s Largest Astronomy Festival,
Event typeOther
LocationGalway, IrelandShow on map
Degree of RecognitionLocal