Oumuamua: First alien object to visit our solar system is wrapped in strange organic coat
ANDREW GRIFFIN
Monday 18 December 2017 16:00 GMT
The first ever interstellar visitor to our solar system is wrapped in a layer of organic insulation, scientists have said.
Oumuamua has enthralled astronomers and the public since it flew through the solar system in October.
As the first alien rock to travel here from another star, it was immediately recognised as highly unusual – but as scientists learn more about the object, they are discovering how strange it actually is.
Its strangeness has even led to suggestions it could be an alien artefact, rather than just an incredibly abnormal natural object.
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Tholins (after the Greek ???ό? (tholós) "hazy" or "muddy"; from the ancient Greek word meaning "sepia ink"
are a wide variety of organic compounds formed by solar ultraviolet irradiation or cosmic rays from simple carbon-containing compounds such as CO2, methane (CH
4) or ethane, often in combination with nitrogen (N2).[1] Tholins do not form naturally on modern-day Earth, but they are found in great abundance on the surface of icy bodies in the outer Solar System, and as reddish aerosols in the atmosphere of outer Solar System planets and moons.
When in the presence of water, tholins may facilitate the formation of prebiotic chemistry to take place, and has implication of the origins of life on Earth and possibly, on other planets. As particles in an atmosphere, tholins scatter light and can affect habitability.
