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The story of 'Oumuamua, the first visitor from another star system

9,823,131 views |

Karen J. Meech |

TED2018

• April 2018

In October 2017, astrobiologist Karen J. Meech got the call every astronomer waits for: NASA had spotted the very first visitor from another star system. The interstellar comet -- a half-mile-long object eventually named `Oumuamua, from the Hawaiian for "scout" or "messenger" -- raised intriguing questions: Was it a chunk of rocky debris from a new star system, shredded material from a supernova explosion, evidence of alien technology or something else altogether? In this riveting talk, Meech tells the story of how her team raced against the clock to find answers about this unexpected gift from afar.

In October 2017, astrobiologist Karen J. Meech got the call every astronomer waits for: NASA had spotted the very first visitor from another star system. The interstellar comet -- a half-mile-long object eventually named `Oumuamua, from the Hawaiian for "scout" or "messenger" -- raised intriguing questions: Was it a chunk of rocky debris from a new star system, shredded material from a supernova explosion, evidence of alien technology or something else altogether? In this riveting talk, Meech tells the story of how her team raced against the clock to find answers about this unexpected gift from afar.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speaker

Karen J. Meech

Astronomer, astrobiologist

See speaker profile

Karen J. Meech is an astronomer who investigates how habitable worlds form and explores the bigger picture of whether there is life elsewhere.

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The discovery of the first Interstellar Object, ‘Oumuamua, excited the world as we had a piece of material from another solar system to study up close.

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The team was surprised to discover that `Oumuamua was accelerating in its orbit — in response to cometary outgassing.

UH Institute for Astronomy | YouTube, 2018 | Watch

"Water you talking about"

We have the technology to now explore how solar systems conducive to the formation of life form.

When different branches of science combine to study a problem from different perspectives, we have the potential to solve deep profound questions that have intrigued humans for centuries. One of the biggest questions, "Are we alone?" is at the basis of astrobiology which explores how life forms, where it might be possible in our solar system and elsewhere. Why is Earth suitable for life is part of a bigger question of how do we make a world that is habitable — i.e. suitable for life. Within our own solar system, we have ideas for a mission that can explore this question of how Earth got its water.

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This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.