English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Asteroid 1I/'Oumuamua is the first observed interstellar object. Itslight-curve amplitude indicates that the object is highly elongated with anaxis ratio of at least 5:1. The absence of such elongated asteroids in theSolar system, as well as the apparent lack of observed interstellar objects,are intriguing problems. Here we show that 'Oumuamua may have originated as aslightly-elongated asteroid about $500\times300$ meters in size. Surfaceerosion, caused by interstellar dust bombardment, subsequently increased theaxis ratio. Simply traveling through the interstellar medium for 0.03 to 2 Gyrswould have sufficed to give 1I its present shape. Passing through a 10 pc dustcloud with a grain density of $10^{-23} \ \mathrm{g/cm^3}$ at 50 km/s wouldhave had a similar effect on 'Oumuamua's form. Smaller objects of around 100meters in diameter can travel the Galactic disk for merely 30 Myrs before theyare disrupted. This could explain the small number of interstellar objectsobserved to date.

Dust bombardment can explain the extremely elongated shape of 1I/'Oumuamua and the lack of interstellar objects