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The second interstellar comet detected in our solar system now has an official name. Meet 2I / Borisov, the latest item from which you can zoom in on our cosmic quarter.
The object formerly known as C / 2019 Q4 was named Tuesday by the International Astronomical Union, the organization that officially names just about everything in the Universe without being on Earth. The 2I refers to the fact that researchers are now convinced that it is the second interstellar object ever discovered in our solar system.
The researchers follow the object since its discovery on August 30 by a Crimean amateur astronomer, Gennady Borisov. And it is there that the second part of the name of this object comes into play – the object that Borisov followed through his 0.65-meter telescope resembled a comet, with a distinctive haze, or "coma" ". Comets, unlike asteroids, moons or other space elements, usually bear the name of their discoverer, which makes the complete designation of this comet 2I / Borisov.
The only other known interstellar object is named Ii 'Oumuamua, initially considered a comet, then an asteroid when it was discovered in 2017. Asteroids are usually named by people who discover them, instead of after The team that found her in Hawaii decided to name it "Oumuamua," a Hawaiian name meaning "a far-away messenger coming first". Subsequent observations indicated that it may have been a comet, but at that time the name remained.
2I / Borisov is more assuredly a comet, with a short tail already visible by astronomers. The comet, estimated to be a few kilometers in diameter, will be closest to the Sun on December 7, 2019, before starting to return from the solar system. This gives astronomers generous time to follow this interstellar visitor and, hopefully, to learn more about its origin and what it is before it finally disappears.
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