Explained: Does a new interstellar object visit the solar system?

In October 2017, the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii spotted a strange spacecraft-shaped object passing through the solar system. Named later "Oumuamua", he became the subject of speculation as to whether it really was an extraterrestrial spaceship, but scientists eventually declared it to be an interstellar object – the first visitor of this type known from the Solar System.

Now, it seems like a second interstellar object is making a visit. On August 30, the MARGO Crimea Observatory spotted a comet that, according to astronomers, would likely come from outside the solar system, although official confirmation has not yet been made.

The comet has been designated C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov). He is always entering the sun. It will remain further from Earth than the orbit of Mars. The approach will be no closer to Earth than about 300 million km, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) said in a statement.

After the first detections of the comet, the JPL Scout system automatically identified the object as possibly interstellar. Scientists from NASA's Center for Near-Earth Objects Studies at JPL, the European Space Agency's Near Earth Coordination Center and the Minor Planet Center sponsored by NASA in Massachusetts estimated the precise trajectory of the comet and determined whether it came from the solar system or elsewhere in the galaxy.

"The current speed of the comet is high, about 150,000 km / h, which is well above the typical speeds of objects orbiting the Sun at this distance. 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, "said David Farnocchia of the Center for Near-Earth Objects Studies. the NASA Earth.

Thursday, the comet was 420 million km from the Sun. He goes to the internal solar system. On October 26, it will pass through the ecliptic plane – the plane in which the Earth and other planets gravitate around the Sun – from above, at an angle of about 40 °. The comet will reach its closest point to Earth, or perihelion, on December 8th.

C / 2019 Q4 can be seen with professional telescopes for the coming months. "The object will reach its luminosity in mid-December and continue to be observed with medium-sized telescopes until April 2020. After that, it will only be observable with larger professional telescopes." until October 2020, "Farnocchia said.