Break out the party hats. Astronomers have all but confirmed that the second known interstellar object is currently whizzing through our Solar System – and unlike the first event, we’ll be able to study it in a huge amount of detail.
The object was originally given the moniker gb00234, and was discovered by an amateur astronomer called Gennady Borisov in Crimea using hia own observatory called MARGO. Borisov first spotted the object on August 30 and was immediately alerted by its odd path – suggesting it was not bound to our Sun.
As mentioned this would be the second known interstellar object to enter our Solar System, since a first calledwas spotted in October 2017. Both are believed to have traveled from other planetary systems to our own across the vast expanse of the galaxy over millions or even billions of years. “The first one did not appear cometary, it appeared asteroidal,” says Payne. “Whereas this one definitively is cometary in nature.”
“[It will stay in the Solar System] for about six months at least,” says astronomy-software developer Bill Gray, who has been closely involved in the discovery, although he notes there are still uncertainties. “We don’t know how bright it’s going to be. That’s always an issue with comets, so you’ve got that unpredictability, combined with the fact that it is interstellar. And this is the first interstellar comet we’ve seen.” was discovered at a distance of three AU.
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