Observations from the ESA Express spacecraft demonstrate the new mystery of the mysterious asteroid Oljato. Asteroid 2201 Oljato made a lot of noise thanks to an unusual image, where it looks like a cross flying through space and leaving a long trail.
Many Internet users saw an alien spaceship in this picture, and thanks to new observations, this fantastic hypothesis will surely find even more supporters.
In addition, Oljato has a very elongated orbit, due to which it crosses the orbits of three terrestrial planets at once: Venus, Mars and Earth. So far, even astronomers themselves find it difficult to say unequivocally whether the very bright 1.8 km Oljato is an asteroid or an unusual comet.
Oljato has a very elongated orbit, due to which it crosses the orbits of three terrestrial planets at once
Back in the 1980s, the passage of asteroid 2201 Oljato inside the orbit of Venus caused a flurry of magnetic activity. Now the results of observation of the ESA Express probe show that the asteroid has lost its magnetic activity. Scientists believe that the clue to this unusual behavior lies in the processes of collision of Oljato with orbital debris.
Oljato orbits the Sun every 3.2 years. During its operation, NASA's Pioneer Venus Orbiter probe has observed the passage of Oljato between Venus and the Sun three times. Each time, the region has seen an increase in unusual magnetic peaks known under the acronym IFES. However, later observations indicate that IFES near Venus became lower during the Oljato transit than in other parts of the asteroid's trajectory.
Scientists believe the answer to this puzzle is the collision process between Oljato and orbital debris. As you know, as a result of collisions in space, electrically charged dust particles are formed, which are accelerated by the solar wind. Once Oljato threw boulders into its orbit - mostly several tens of meters in diameter. They formed a trail of debris behind and in front of the asteroid. This plume acted as a kind of shield that cleared the way for the asteroid. As a result of the collision of the "shield" with orbital debris, a large amount of dust was formed, which was then carried away by the solar wind. At this point, Pioneer registered IFES peaks.
Thanks to the "shield" that pulverized space debris and turned it into dust, the once very "dirty" region of the Oljato movement near Venus has become unusually clean. Of course, scientists are confident that the work of the "broom" Oljato, which removes more than 3 tons of dust every day, is based on processes associated with the solar wind and gravitational disturbances, and not with the activities of aliens.
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