Confirmation of the second interstellar object to visit the solar system, named after the amateur astronomer

Technology

01:14 26.09.2019(updated 01:20 26.09.2019) Get a short URL

The first interstellar comet and the second interstellar object to enter our solar system in modern history were originally discovered by a telescope maker with a strong history of recently identified comets.

An unusual space object detected last month, of interstellar origin, was named in honor of the astronomer and engineer who reported it for the first time, CNN reported Wednesday.

Named 2I / Borisov, after Gennady Borisov – a maker of telescopes and astronomer living in Crimea who discovered seven other comets – the object was determined to be a comet of external origin to the solar system . This makes it the second interstellar object and the first interstellar comet to visit the solar system.

"The orbit is now sufficiently known and its purpose is unequivocally interstellar," says a press release issued by the Minor Planet Center of the International Astronomical Union, which gave its name to the comet.

Borisov initially spotted the comet with the help of a 0.65 meter telescope that he had built himself. After its first observation, the object was analyzed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Scout system, which indicated that it probably came from the solar system. The Scout system regularly analyzes newly discovered celestial objects for potential hazards and trajectories, says CNN's report.

The comet has also been examined by NASA's Center for Near-Earth Objects and the Center for Near-Earth Objects Coordination at the European Space Agency.

"The current speed of the comet is high, about 150 000 km / h, which is much higher than the typical speed of the objects orbiting the Sun at this distance," says Davide Farnocchia of the NASA center. "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."

According to astronomers from the University of Hawaii, the comet is between 1.2 and 10 miles in diameter.

It will enter the interior of the solar system on Oct. 26 and move closer to Earth – a distance of 190 million kilometers – on Dec. 8, according to a CNN report. The object will remain visible to telescopes for months.

The first interstellar object to enter our system of modern history is 1I / Oumuamua, discovered in 2017. It was originally thought to be a comet, but it was later designated as a hyperbolic asteroid, the only one of its kind in the world. Known universe. Unlike asteroids, comets are usually named after those who discovered them.

Borisov began to observe the sky with the help of a telescope at the age of 15 years. He then became an engineer by creating professional telescopes operating around the world, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta. The newly discovered object is the eighth comet to bear his name.