How ‘Oumuamua Got Shredded
nautil.us
nautil.us
The object is dynamically unstable, creating the wobble observed. However, my data indicates that Jeb actually prefers the "gerbil in a washing machine" experience - and is capable of enjoying it for trillions of years, without interruption.
However, we should be hesitant to approach this object. It is likely armed to the gills with deadly missiles and lasers that serve no useful end other than being fired willy-nilly at anything nearby, "for scientific purposes". This phenomenon is often seen in my models, and its causes remains stubbornly inscrutable. Why fire weaponry into gas giants? Why deploy nuclear warheads into stars? Further study is required.
It would be more efficient to keep a rocket on standby on Earth ready to launch, since any orbital momentum we give them after launch that is not perfectly in line with their target would have to be canceled.
I'll spare the NASA rant, but suffice to say it's a shame they're now spending the lions share of their budget developing a launch system that's only ambition is to provide a comparable capacity to what we had 50 years ago.