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Reply to: Accelerating ‘Oumuamua with H2 is challenging

Nature volume 623, pages E16–E17 (2023)Cite this article

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The Original Article was published on 29 November 2023

replying to: N. F. W. Ligterink Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06697-y (2023).

In the accompanying Comment1, Ligterink claims that it is challenging to explain 1I/‘Oumuamua’s non-gravitational acceleration with molecular hydrogen (H2), primarily due to insufficient formation of H2 by galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) processing of a pure-water (H2O) body. The article underscores important considerations, including the age of the body and the uncertainties with adopting an appropriate H2 yield for this scenario. Nonetheless, the model presented in our paper2 remains a valid explanation for ‘Oumuamua’s non-gravitational acceleration. In the following, we address Ligterink’s various argument themes.

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Fig. 1: H2 and D2 growth curves from H2O or D2O ice electrolysis or photolysis.

Data availability

All data are taken from the previously published articles referenced in the text.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Noonan and G. Laughlin for helpful conversations. D.Z.S. acknowledges financial support from the National Science Foundation Grant No. AST-2107796, NASA Grant No. 80NSSC19K0444 and NASA Contract NNX17AL71A. D.Z.S. is supported by an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship under award AST-2202135. This research award is partially funded by a generous gift of Charles Simonyi to the NSF Division of Astronomical Sciences. The award is made in recognition of significant contributions to Rubin Observatory’s Legacy Survey of Space and Time.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Jennifer B. Bergner

  2. Department of Astronomy and Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Darryl Z. Seligman

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  1. Jennifer B. Bergner
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  2. Darryl Z. Seligman
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J.B.B. and D.Z.S. contributed to the writing of the paper.

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Correspondence to Jennifer B. Bergner or Darryl Z. Seligman.

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Bergner, J.B., Seligman, D.Z. Reply to: Accelerating ‘Oumuamua with H2 is challenging. Nature 623, E16–E17 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06698-x

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