NASA Detects Visitor From Outside Solar System
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Scientists have just discovered a rare interstellar object hurtling through the solar system, and it's expected to make its closest approach to Earth on October 30.
Officially named 3I/ATLAS, the comet was first observed on July 1 by the NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, one of the best places in the world for stargazing.
Approaching from the constellation of Sagittarius, 3I/ATLAS is currently located about 420 million miles away—and does not pose a threat to our planet. On its current trajectory, it will only come within 150 million miles of us at the most.
Pre-discovery observations of the comet date back to June 14, with numerous telescopes around the world reporting additional sightings since. Its size and physical properties are currently being investigated by astronomers across the globe.
This diagram shows the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in October.
This diagram shows the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in October.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Only two other interstellar objects have ever been identified by scientists. 2I/Borisov, reported in 2019, and 'Oumuamua, in 2017, which briefly tricked some astronomers into believing it was an alien probe, before the theory was debunked.
Currently about 416 million miles form the sun, 3I/ATLAS will make its closest approach to a planet in October, coming within 37 million miles of Mars.
The comet should remain visible to ground-based telescopes all through September, according to NASA, after which it will pass too close to the Sun to observe. It will then reappear on the other side of the Sun by early December.
Scientists are able to determine when a celestial object has interstellar origins based on its trajectory, which is tracked by measuring its changing position in the sky while taking into account all the known forces acting on it, including gravity of the Sun and the planets.
Objects that come from inside our solar system tend to move along a closed elliptical orbit, while interstellar objects follow a hyperbolic orbit, and move fast enough to be able to escape gravity.
While only three interstellar objects have ever been identified, a study published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in 2021, suggests that celestial bodies from out of our solar system may actually be more common than previously thought —outnumbering "domestic" material in the Oort cloud which surrounds the solar system.
Do you have a science story to share with Newsweek? Do you have a question about interstellar objects? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Reference
Siraj, A., & Loeb, A. (2021). Interstellar objects outnumber Solar system objects in the Oort cloud. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 507(1), L16–L18. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slab084
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