Latest news with #Oumuamua
Alalam24
2 days ago
- Science
- Alalam24
A mysterious visitor from the depths of space is approaching the Sun at an astonishing speed
Astronomers have discovered a mysterious object coming from outside the solar system, named '3I ATLAS.' makes it the third known interstellar visitor to humanity, after 'Oumuamua in 2017 and Borisov in 2019. The object, believed to be an interstellar comet, is hurtling toward the Sun at an incredible speed of over 210,000 km/h. It is expected to reach its closest point to the Sun in October 2025 before continuing its journey away from our solar system toward an unknown destination. What makes this new space visitor remarkable is that it might be the oldest interstellar object ever detected, according to researchers. This opens the door to significant scientific discoveries about the nature of comets that originated in distant galaxies or star systems. Within less than 24 hours of its detection, scientists confirmed that '3I ATLAS' does not originate from our solar system — a rare occurrence that raises many questions about its origin and composition. Early observations show it has a cloud of gas and ice similar to traditional comets, with an estimated size of about 24 kilometers, making it larger than any previously observed interstellar comet. As for any potential threat to Earth, NASA has reassured the public that it poses no danger, as it will pass at a safe distance of approximately 240 million kilometers from our planet. Amateur astronomers may even have the chance to observe it with simple telescopes — or possibly with the naked eye — in the coming months as it approaches the Sun and grows brighter
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Science
- South Wales Argus
Finding the summer triangle in the night sky this week
Looking at Vega whilst facing east, sweep a short distance down and to the left, and you'll find Deneb. Sweeping down and to the right from Deneb, Altair, can be found at a greater distance situated above the southeastern horizon. Together, these three bright stars form the 'Summer Triangle'. As featured in last week's article, astronomers now believe that 3I/Atlas, the 12 mile-wide object that recently entered our solar system, is literally a wandering galactic relic that is probably billions of years old. Discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, (ATLAS), telescope in Chile, 3I/Atlas is gathering a similar amount of attention as the large cigar-shaped object Oumuamua, (pronounced oh MOO-uh MOO-uh), drew when it passed through our neck of the woods in 2017. 3I/Atlas is currently speeding through our solar system at 150,000mph, scheduled to Mars in October at a distance of 18 million miles from the red planet, then passing Earth at a distance of 150 million miles in December. This intriguing object is thought to be in the order of seven billion years old, older than our Sun, estimated to have formed 4.6 billion years ago. Measuring larger than the asteroid that brought the curtain down on the reign of the dinosaurs, 3I/Atlas heralds from a completely different region of the Milky Way, when compared to the previous two visitors, Oumuamua, and 2I/Borisov, the latter of which was discovered in August 2019. Recently, a very rare event took place in the southern hemisphere whereby not one, but two stars went nova, giving observers the chance to see two 'new stars' shining brightly at night. In northern hemisphere skies, the skies we observe, (and not to be outdone), we may well have our own nova to look forward to. A nova and a supernova derive from the same stable but arise from different causes involving stars in different phases of their lives, but needless to say a supernova is a major outburst with a nova less so. The latter applies to a star named T Corona Borealis which every 80 years dims slightly before erupting, and should become visible to the naked eye. T Corona Borealis is situated in a small constellation named Corona Borealis, not far from the bright star Vega. Whilst noted in Greek mythology, Corona Borealis also has a place in Welsh mythology, being referred to as Caer Arianrhod, 'the Castle of the Silver Circle,' the heavenly residence of Lady Arianrhod, the 'Silver Wheel Goddess of Wales' Lasting occurring in 1946, T Corona Borealis dimmed in March 2023 as a precursor to the nova occurring, and if the outburst follows the same pattern, we could well see a nova in our skies. Venus continues to 'shine' brightly in the skies before dawn and on mornings of Monday, July 21, and Tuesday, July 22, the crescent Moon makes for a lovely pairing. Send your astrophotography pictures to: thenightsky@
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
The Vera Rubin Observatory could find dozens of interstellar objects
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Scientists and astronomers are racing to study only the third-ever known interstellar visitor to the solar system, but with a powerful new observatory coming online, these enigmatic objects may soon become routine discoveries. A comet, now known as 3I/ATLAS, with 3I short for "third interstellar," sparked immediate excitement on July 1 when it was detected by the Deep Random Survey remote telescope in Chile, exhibiting a hyperbolic and highly eccentric orbit. It is the third confirmed interstellar visitor, following 1I'Oumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019. But fleeting visits of high-speed guests from outside our solar system are likely to be detected much more regularly now, thanks to the new Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The Rubin observatory is located on the mountain of Cerro Pachón in Chile, and saw first light in June after a decade of construction. While it is only in its early commissioning phase, in just 10 hours of observations, Rubin discovered 2,104 new asteroids. Its science objectives include understanding the structure and evolution of the universe, mapping the Milky Way and observing transient astronomical events, but it is also set to revolutionize the detection of interstellar objects (ISOs). This is thanks to Rubin's gigantic Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) camera— the largest digital camera ever constructed for astronomy, with a staggering 3.2 gigapixels. LSST will scan giant swaths of the sky at once and observe the entire southern sky every few nights. Due to its wide field, depth, and how frequently it observes the same regions of sky, Rubin is uniquely capable of catching fast, faint objects like 1I/'Oumuamua or 3I/ATLAS. ISOs like 1I/'Oumuamua or 3I/ATLAS move quickly and can easily pass through our sky unnoticed if the sky is not being scanned often and everywhere. Rubin will be looking constantly and broadly, giving astronomers the best chance yet to catch these fleeting visitors, while also being able to detect objects fainter than nearly any ground-based survey before it. Rubin's powerful imaging and automatic image comparison, coupled with an automated alert system — with millions triggered and filtered every night — means it will pick up telltale motion and flag a potential ISO. So how many interstellar objects might Rubin actually detect? The answer varies widely depending on which assumptions scientists use. We are in the early days of detecting ISOs, so it is difficult to estimate how many Rubin is likely to pick up; we know little about their overall frequency, size range, brightness, if they exhibit cometary activity, and how LSST performs. However, a few recent papers on the topic provide some useful context for how many ISOs LSST might be able to detect, depending on a range of variables. In a 2022 paper, Hoover et al. estimate that LSST will detect on the order of between 0.9-1.9 ISOs every year, or around 15 such objects across Rubin's 10-year observational campaign. It notes that these are lower limits, which can be updated when there is more data on the number density and size frequency of interstellar objects. Additionally, Hoover et al. estimate the chances that Rubin will find an ISO reachable by the Comet Interceptor and Bridge mission concepts, which would fly by an interstellar object as it passes through our solar system. These missions would be launched to lurk in wait, ready to intercept and rendezvous with a passing ISO. The researchers concluded that there is just a roughly 0.07% chance that LSST would identify an ISO target available to Comet Interceptor, which has limited capability to change its velocity, while LSST could detect around three to seven ISOs reachable by Bridge, a more capable but yet-to-be-approved mission concept. RELATED STORIES — New interstellar object 3I/ATLAS: Everything we know about the rare cosmic visitor — Vera C Rubin Observatory reveals 1st stunning images of the cosmos. Scientists are 'beyond excited about what's coming' — 'Oumuamua: A guide to the 1st known interstellar visitor Another estimate, from a 2023 paper by Ezell and Loeb, expects LSST to detect one small ISO 3 to 164 feet (1 to 50 meters) wide every one to two years. A more optimistic assessment comes from Marceta and Seligman in a 2023 paper. They find, based on a simulated suite of galactic populations of asteroidal interstellar objects and their trajectories and kinematics, that Rubin should detect between around 0 and 70 asteroidal interstellar objects every year. Again, one of the main factors is how many objects of different sizes actually exist in the population of ISOs, as well as their albedo, or how much light they reflect. With just three confirmed interstellar visitors so far, much remains unknown about the number, size, and diversity of ISOs. But with the Rubin Observatory coming online, sightings of these fast-moving cosmic messengers may soon shift from rare events to regular science, offering unique insights into the galaxy beyond our solar system. Solve the daily Crossword
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Science
- Indian Express
3I/Atlas: Could this interstellar object be alien tech? Harvard study hints at possibility
A few days ago, astronomers spotted a small comet that entered our solar system. Now, a Harvard astronomer is saying that it's a chance that the comet is actually not a piece of rock but some sort of alien tech. First observed by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope, the comet was named by the Minor Planet Center as 3I/ATLAS. In a newly published yet to be peer-reviewed paper, Avi Loeb, a Harvard astronomer who first suggested that Oumuamua, the first interstellar object ever detected, was alien, in partnership with researchers from the UK based Initiative for Interstellar Studies, said that in addition to being alien in origin, 3I/Atlas may belong to a hostile extraterrestrial civilisation. In a blog post on the popular platform Medium, Loeb said that we will need more observational data to determine if 3I/ATLAS is a comet or an asteroid. He went on to say that the object was 'sent towards the inner solar system by design.' Loeb is an accomplished astronomer, but in the last few years, his statements have made headlines around the world after he claimed that various objects floating around in space might be alien spacecraft. Citing the 'dark forest' hypothesis, which assumes that the universe is filled with aliens to avoid mutual destruction, Loeb, along with his colleagues Adam Hibberd and Adam Crowl, say that 3I/ATLAS might prove that we aren't the only living creatures in the universe. 'The consequences, should the [dark forest] hypothesis turn out to be correct, could potentially be dire for humanity,' Loeb wrote in his blog post. In another post, the Harvard astronomer said that 3I/ATLAS is likely more than 12 miles in diameter, making it bigger than the obelisk-shaped Oumuamua. In his paper, he also acknowledged that 3I/ATLAS might turn out to be a natural interstellar object, and that he is waiting for astronomical data to see if his theory turns out to be true. 3I/ATLAS is an interstellar object, meaning it came from outside our solar system. Rocks like these are most ancient and were ejected into space by distant star systems that may no longer exist. Space objects like these often give us useful insights into the building blocks of other planetary systems in space. While interstellar objects often fly by our solar system, most of them are pretty difficult to spot and study. Compared to previously spotted interstellar objects – 1I/Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, which were discovered in 2017 and 2019, respectively, 3I/ATLAS might be up to 20km long, which means it will be the biggest interstellar object ever recorded. When astronomers analysed images captured from the Gemini North telescope, it was noted that 3I/ATLAS has a compact cloud of gas and dust that surrounds its icy core. Some other observations also suggest that 3I/ATLAS might have come from the outer, thicker disk of the Milky Way, and might possibly be the oldest comet ever spotted. 3I/ATLAS will be passing by the Sun at a distance of 210 million km, marking its closest point to our star. Sometime in December, the interstellar object will be 270 million km from Earth, but it won't pose any danger to our planet.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers capture 1st close-up photograph of new interstellar visitor
It's out of this world. Or, more accurately, this solar system. On July 1, astronomers discovered an object near the orbit of Jupiter that was somewhat peculiar. It had a strange orbit, one that didn't take it around the sun like most asteroids or comets. Eventually it was confirmed that this object — named 3I/ATLAS, or C/2025 N1 (ATLAS) — was an interstellar visitor. Now, using the U.S. National Science Foundation's (NSF) Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, astronomers have captured the first detailed image of this cosmic interloper. "We look forward to a bounty of new data and insights as this object warms itself on sunlight before continuing its cold, dark journey between the stars," Martin Still, NSF program director for the International Gemini Observatory, said in a statement. The comet will continue to be visible in large telescopes until September, after which it will be lost in the sun's glare. Learning more about the comet "As this is only our third interstellar visitor ever discovered, we're excited to learn about this entirely new class of object," Paul Wiegert, an astronomy professor at Western University, told CBC News in an email. Astronomers like to study comets and asteroids as they are left over from our solar system's earliest formation and can reveal what conditions were like at the time. Being able to study something from outside of our neighbourhood could potentially provide more knowledge about other star systems. Current observations suggest the comet is roughly 20 kilometres in diameter, far larger than the previous two interstellar comets astronomers observed passing through our solar system. The first comet was 'Oumuamua, which had a measly diameter of 200 metres. The second was 2I/Borisov, which was one kilometre in diameter. The fact that 3I/ATLAS is so large is a boon to astronomers: It makes it easier to study, particularly as it nears Earth. It will make a close approach in December, but poses no threat. A recent study presented by author Matthew Hopkins at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting 2025 in Durham, England, suggests that this new visitor may be the oldest comet ever seen. He estimates its origin to be from a part of our galaxy that is home to ancient stars, and says that it could be seven billion years old, far older than our galaxy's 4.5 billion years. And this new visitor is hustling: when it was discovered, it was travelling at roughly 61 kilometres per second. How they know it's not from our neighbourhood Astronomers can determine the origin of comets or asteroids based on their orbits' eccentricity, or how stretched out its path is. An eccentricity of 0 means it is a perfectly circular orbit. An eccentricity greater than one means the orbit does not circle around the sun, and the higher the value, the more stretched out the orbit. WATCH | Orbit of third-known interstellar object: In 3I/ATLAS's case, its orbit is 6.2, which is how astronomers knew that it came from beyond the solar system. For comparison, 'Oumuamua had an eccentricity of 1.2 and 2I/Borisov's eccentricity was 3.6. Currently, this new comet is still within Jupiter's orbit, roughly 465 million kilometres from Earth. It will make its closest approach to our planet on Dec. 19, at a distance of roughly 270 million kilometres. It will reach its closet point to the sun on Oct. 30 at a distance of 210 million kilometres, which will be just inside the orbit of Mars. Though astronomers have quickly learned some things about this newest interloper, they hope to learn more over time. "This one seems much like a comet from our own solar system. That is, mostly made of ice which has been frozen for billions of years as it wandered the galaxy, but now [is] starting to gently turn to vapour in the light of our sun. This makes 3I/ATLAS look fuzzy with a tail, visible in the image," Wiegert said. "But we really don't know if it is like one of our comets (which are leftover building block from when the Earth and planets formed) or something completely different."
