Mysterious superfast object from beyond our solar system rockets towards the sun
The European Space Agency said it could be the third-ever confirmed object we've detected in our cosmic neighbourhood that originated from outside our solar system.
The agency is monitoring the eccentric path of the ultra-rare interstellar object, provisionally called A11pl3Z, through a network of telescopes across the globe.
The object is sailing past Jupiter's orbit at 60 kilometres a second and will fly deep into the solar system, skimming past Mars.
'It's travelling whoppingly fast at an estimated 245,000km/h,' said Swinburne University of Technology astrophysicist Sara Webb. 'It is absolutely yeeting it through the solar system.'
That sensational speed is the giveaway that this is probably a visitor from beyond our solar system.
Asteroid belts and comets orbiting around the sun travel at speeds below the 'escape velocity' of the sun's gravitational pull. Any faster and they'd rocket off into the dark of deep space.
'This object, though, it looks like it is travelling at a speed that would not allow it to remain within our solar system's orbit,' Webb said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Age
2 days ago
- The Age
Mysterious superfast object from beyond our solar system rockets towards the sun
Astronomers are racing to determine the nature of a big, bright, superfast object from beyond our solar system hurtling towards the sun. The European Space Agency said it could be the third-ever confirmed object we've detected in our cosmic neighbourhood that originated from outside our solar system. The agency is monitoring the eccentric path of the ultra-rare interstellar object, provisionally called A11pl3Z, through a network of telescopes across the globe. The object is sailing past Jupiter's orbit at 60 kilometres a second and will fly deep into the solar system, skimming past Mars. 'It's travelling whoppingly fast at an estimated 245,000km/h,' said Swinburne University of Technology astrophysicist Sara Webb. 'It is absolutely yeeting it through the solar system.' That sensational speed is the giveaway that this is probably a visitor from beyond our solar system. Asteroid belts and comets orbiting around the sun travel at speeds below the 'escape velocity' of the sun's gravitational pull. Any faster and they'd rocket off into the dark of deep space. 'This object, though, it looks like it is travelling at a speed that would not allow it to remain within our solar system's orbit,' Webb said.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Mysterious superfast object from beyond our solar system rockets towards the sun
Astronomers are racing to determine the nature of a big, bright, superfast object from beyond our solar system hurtling towards the sun. The European Space Agency said it could be the third-ever confirmed object we've detected in our cosmic neighbourhood that originated from outside our solar system. The agency is monitoring the eccentric path of the ultra-rare interstellar object, provisionally called A11pl3Z, through a network of telescopes across the globe. The object is sailing past Jupiter's orbit at 60 kilometres a second and will fly deep into the solar system, skimming past Mars. 'It's travelling whoppingly fast at an estimated 245,000km/h,' said Swinburne University of Technology astrophysicist Sara Webb. 'It is absolutely yeeting it through the solar system.' That sensational speed is the giveaway that this is probably a visitor from beyond our solar system. Asteroid belts and comets orbiting around the sun travel at speeds below the 'escape velocity' of the sun's gravitational pull. Any faster and they'd rocket off into the dark of deep space. 'This object, though, it looks like it is travelling at a speed that would not allow it to remain within our solar system's orbit,' Webb said.
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- The Advertiser
Astronomers track object from outside the solar system
Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency says. The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of kilometres away and moving toward Mars but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists. It is too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet or how big and what shape it is. More observations are needed to confirm its origins. NASA said it is monitoring the situation. Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system. He estimates its size at about 40km across. The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017. It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honour of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it. Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet. The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet. Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency says. The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of kilometres away and moving toward Mars but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists. It is too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet or how big and what shape it is. More observations are needed to confirm its origins. NASA said it is monitoring the situation. Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system. He estimates its size at about 40km across. The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017. It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honour of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it. Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet. The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet. Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency says. The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of kilometres away and moving toward Mars but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists. It is too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet or how big and what shape it is. More observations are needed to confirm its origins. NASA said it is monitoring the situation. Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system. He estimates its size at about 40km across. The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017. It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honour of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it. Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet. The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet. Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency says. The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of kilometres away and moving toward Mars but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists. It is too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet or how big and what shape it is. More observations are needed to confirm its origins. NASA said it is monitoring the situation. Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system. He estimates its size at about 40km across. The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017. It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honour of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it. Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet. The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet.
