Is Oumuamua One of the Rarest Objects in the Universe? with Darryl Seligman

Is Oumuamua One of the Rarest Objects in the Universe? with Darryl Seligman

From John Michael Godier's Event Horizon by John Michael Godier

May 16, 2026 · 34 min

About this episode

Darryl Seligman joins John Michael Godier to discuss the theory that Oumuamua may be a hydrogen iceberg.

The mysterious interstellar object Oumuamua.What is Oumuamua?Darryl Seligman joins John Michael Godier on Event Horizon to discuss his new paper which theorizes that the interstellar object Oumuamua may possibly be something never before seen, a hydrogen iceberg. The hydrogen iceberg travelled through the universe and the interstellar medium to our solar system and has proved to be a hard mystery to solve.‘Oumuamua Might Be a Giant Interstellar Hydrogen Iceberg https://www.wired.com/story/oumuamua-might-be-a-giant-interstellar-hydrogen-iceberg/A Hydrogen Iceberg from a Failed Star Might Have Passed through Our Solar Systemhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-hydrogen-iceberg-from-a-failed-star-might-have-passed-through-our-solar-system/Evidence that 1I/2017 U1 (`Oumuamua) was composed of molecular hydrogen ice.” Seligman and Laughlin, Astrophysical Journal Lettershttps://arxiv.org/abs/2005.12932Study by UChicago, Yale scientists lays out origin story for object named ‘Oumuamua https://news.uchicago.edu/story/mysterious-interstellar-visitor-was-probably-dark-hydrogen-iceberg-not-aliensWant to support the channel?Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/EventHorizonShowFollow us at…

People in this episode

Host: John Michael Godier

Guest: Darryl Seligman

Topics covered

  • Oumuamua
  • interstellar objects
  • hydrogen iceberg
  • space exploration
  • astrophysics

Keywords

  • Oumuamua
  • hydrogen iceberg
  • interstellar medium
  • space mystery
  • astrophysical research

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UChicago, Yale, Scientific American, Wired

Books & works: ‘Oumuamua Might Be a Giant Interstellar Hydrogen Iceberg, A Hydrogen Iceberg from a Failed Star Might Have Passed through Our Solar System, Evidence that 1I/2017 U1 (`Oumuamua) was composed of molecular hydrogen ice.

More episodes of John Michael Godier's Event Horizon

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the John Michael Godier's Event Horizon podcast page.