Astronomers only spot the second interstellar object ever seen

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Comet C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov) was spotted by an amateur astronomer.
The object moves so fast that it is probably born outside of our solar system.
The comet should be observable for another year.

A comet that can come from outside our solar system has been discovered. If it was confirmed, it would act as the second interstellar object ever identified, the first being Oumuamua, discovered in 2017.

The new comet, named C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov), was discovered by the Ukrainian amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov at the MARGO observatory in Nauchnij, Crimea, August 30, 2019. Since the discovery, astronomers have debated the origins of the unusual rock space, which does not seem to have a circular or elliptical orbit.

The object says eccentricity, one of its key orbital parameters, has been measured by the Minor Planet Center to more than three, which means it has an arc-shaped trajectory.

Composite image of Travis Rector. Credit: Gemini Observatory / NSF / AURA

Bi-color composite image of the C / 2019 Q4 Gemini Observatory (Borisov). The blue and red dashes show stars in the background that appear striped by the movement of the comet.

Another striking indicator that serves as an index to the interstellar origins of the comet is its high speed of about 93,000 miles per hour (or 150,000 km / h). It's too fast to be driven by the gravity of the sun and it also means that the object is probably going through.

Davide Farnocchia According to NASA's Near-Earth Object Studies Center at JPL, the speed is much higher than other objects in orbit around the Sun. "The high speed not only indicates that the object is probably coming from outside our solar system, but also that it will leave and return to interstellar space," Farnocchia said.

Borisov's comet should not approach the Earth, currently about 260 million kilometers from our Sun. At its closest point to the Earth (or perihelion), it is always planned to stay as far as 190 million miles, farther than the orbit of Mars.

How do we know that it's even a comet? Of coma – its blurry appearance, which indicates that the object has a central icy body surrounded by a cloud of dust and particles surrounding it as the sun approaches, which warms it, yields the press release from NASA. It is estimated that the nucleus of the comet has a diameter between 1.2 and 10 miles (2 and 16 kilometers).

For about a year, you can also take a look at the unusual space body if you have a professional telescope. "The object will reach maximum brightness in mid-December and continue to be observed with medium-sized telescopes until April 2020," explained Farnocchia. "After that, larger professional telescopes will only be seen in October 2020."