‘Oumuamua may be a chip knocked off an icy, Pluto-like exoplanet

Our first interstellar visitor may have been a shard of nitrogen ice from another solar system

illustration of ‘Oumuamua

The weird-looking interstellar object known as ‘Oumuamua (illustrated), discovered in 2017, may be a piece of nitrogen ice broken off a Pluto-like planet in another solar system.

William Hartmann

Since its discovery, the interstellar object known as ‘Oumuamua has defied explanation.