Latest news with #GennadyBorisov
USA Today
03-07-2025
- Science
- USA Today
A comet from an entirely different solar system is flying through ours, NASA says
An interstellar tourist is taking a quick trip through our solar system, becoming one of just three known objects to ever do so, according to NASA. A comet from a solar system outside our own was first noticed on July 1 by a NASA telescope located in Rio Hurtado, Chile, as part of the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). When scanning the sky for space debris that could pose a threat to Earth, it detected a then-unknown object zipping through space. NASA then gathered data collected about the object from several telescopes around the world, tracing its earliest captured appearance back to June 14. Officially named 3I/ATLAS, the comet was confirmed as having originated outside of Earth's solar system on July 3, according to the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA. It is believed to be about 20 kilometers, or over 12 miles wide, according to the ESA and traveling at about 60 kilometers, or 37 miles per second relative to the sun. ESA's astronomers are actively tracking 3I/ATLAS, which is now the third confirmed interstellar comet to pass through our Solar System!More info at: Interstellar comet to pass by sun in October The visitor poses no threat, NASA said, as it will remain at least 150 million miles away from Earth. It is 420 million miles away as of July 3, and will reach its closest point to the sun around Oct. 30, when it passes by at a distance of about 130 million miles. It will be observable by telescope until September, advised NASA, when it will then approach the sun too closely to be seen, but will be viewable again around December. "While every planet, moon, asteroid, comet and lifeform that formed in our Solar System shares a common origin, a common heritage, interstellar visitors are true outsiders," the ESA said in a post to X, formerly Twitter. Other visitors from beyond our solar system Scientists know of only two other interstellar objects that have ever been observed from Earth. The first, 1I/2017 U1 'Oumuamua, was discovered by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS1 telescope on Oct. 19, 2017. Described by NASA as "cigar-shaped" with a "reddish hue," it was originally believed to be a comet, then an asteroid, then possibly a comet again. The second, Comet 2I/Borisov, was spotted by amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov of Crimea on Aug. 30, 2019. It streaked through our solar system at 110,000 mph, according to NASA, and behaved more like an active comet.
NBC News
03-07-2025
- Science
- NBC News
Interstellar comet is only third known object to visit from beyond our solar system
Astronomers are rolling out a welcome mat for a newly identified visitor from beyond our solar system. The object — thought to be a comet — is only the third-ever confirmed interstellar visitor to pass through our cosmic neighborhood. Dubbed 3I/ATLAS, the comet poses no danger to Earth and will remain roughly 150 million miles away as it speeds by, according to NASA. The interstellar comet was first spotted on Tuesday by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Rio Hurtado, Chile. The NASA-funded survey telescope — which is actually made up of two telescopes in Hawaii, one in Chile and a fourth in South Africa — is designed to scan the entire sky several times each night, searching for asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. Researchers combed through archival data from three different ATLAS telescopes and the Zwicky Transient Facility at the Palomar Observatory in California, and found corresponding observations that helped confirm the discovery. Other telescopes around the world also joined the effort, according to NASA. 'ESA's Planetary Defenders are observing the object, provisionally known as #A11pl3Z, right now using telescopes around the world,' the European Space Agency said Wednesday in a post on X. The comet is currently about 420 million miles away, moving quickly from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, NASA said in a blog post about the discovery. Sagittarius is a prominent constellation in the Southern Hemisphere that points toward the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The agency said 3I/ATLAS will swing closest to the sun around Oct. 30, passing at a distance of approximately 130 million miles, or just inside the orbit of Mars. NASA said the comet should be visible to ground-based observatories through September, allowing time for scientists to glean additional details about the cosmic interloper, including its size. After September, 3I/ATLAS will be too close to the sun to observe with telescopes, but the object is expected to be visible again in early December, when it emerges on the other side of the sun. The months ahead offer a rare opportunity to study a celestial tourist from beyond our solar system. The first confirmed interstellar object seen passing through the solar system was discovered in 2017 by the University of Hawaii's Pan-STARRS1 telescope. The rocky object, named Oumuamua (Hawaiian for 'a messenger from afar arriving first'), has a reddish hue and is elongated like a cigar, according to NASA. The only other known interstellar object to pay a visit is 21/Borisov, a comet that was discovered in 2019 by an amateur astronomer named Gennady Borisov.
