The newly discovered object speed through our solar system causes excitement among astronomers because it is not out of here. It is believed that there is a comet, the object is only the third celestial body from our solar system, ever observed in the corner of our universe.
This interstellar visitor, now officially named by 3I/Atlas, has become known when NASA funded by Atlas (asteroidal land stroke last warning system) Telescope in Chile said Tuesday. Since then, astronomers who view the archival observations of many telescopes have watched the movements of the object on June 14. And found that the comet had come from the direction of the Sagittarius constellation.
The speed of the comet and the road through the solar system are two strong indicators it originated outside our solar system, said Gianluca Masi, astronomer and astrophysicist from the Bellatrix Astronomical Observatory in Italy and founder and scientific director of Virtual Telescope Project. Masi watched the comet and broadcast a direct image of the object on the Virtual Telescope Project, starting at 6 p.m. Et on Thursday.
The comet moves almost 37 miles per second (60 kilometers per second) – or 133,200 miles per hour (about 214 364 km / h) – too fast to be a “local” object in our solar system, said Teddy Kareta, an associate professor at the University of Villanova near Philadelphia.
“Objects connected with the Sun – the inhabitants of our solar system – go around the roads that return to the same point,” wrote Kareta in an email. “The Earth’s orbit is usually circular, Pluto’s orbit is stretched oval, and many comes are very” eccentric ” – their orbits are very long and narrow. This object path through the solar system is almost a straight line. ”
Since the initial observation of a comet in 420 million miles (675 million kilometers) from the ground, astronomers have rushed to observe the object with telescopes around the world. One of those astronomers is Kareta, who watched the comet using the Lowell Observatory’s Lowell Discovery Telescope in Flagstaff, Arizona, as soon as he heard about it at night of his discovery. He said he thought it would only be a couple of weeks before almost every big telescope on Earth and space had time to notice and follow the comet.
“People are happy. Almost every planetary astronomer I know immediately ran to a telescope or sent emails asking for a telescope (observation) time in the coming few days,” said Kareta, a former Lowell Observatory Postcoker researcher. “Although it may be a few months for us to explore this charming object, the earlier we can find out how it works – how it develops, what strange or unexpected properties it can have – the faster we can plan the remaining passage through the solar system.”
The NASA chart shows the 3I/Atlas trajectory as it passes through the solar system. – NASA/JPL-Caltech
Anatomy of interstellar object
The Comet 3i/Atlas follows two more intriguing interstellar objects called Isa, which once passed through our solar system: “Oumuamaa 2017 and 2I/Borisov 2019 accelerated cigar -shaped Oumuamua movements have even burned claims that it can be a foreign probe.
So far, little is known about 3i/Atlas. Astronomers believe that its diameter is 12 miles (20 kilometers), due to the brightness of the object due to the great uncertainty, Masi said.
However, the comet seems to be the brightest and fastest of the three interstellar objects discovered so far, the Kareta noted.
The object has shown features of comet, including the fact that it seems to lose masses as a comet. Comets are made of ice, frozen gas and rocks, and since they are next to stars such as the sun, heat forces them to release gas and dust that creates their signature tails. However, it is not yet clear what material is released from 3i/atlas or what the process is caused, the Kareta said.
“Given the constant disagreements about what caused the first ISO Oumuamua orbit acceleration, I would be surprised if it was not a priority for the majority of the majority,” Kareta wrote in the email.
The virtual telescope project captured the object’s image on Wednesday. – Gianluca Masi/Virtual Telescope Project
The path of a comet
Astronomers said the comet would not be a threat to Earth and will remain at least 150 million miles (240 million kilometers) from our planet. Currently, the comet is about 416 million miles (670 million kilometers) from the Sun and our upcoming stars, about 30 October, 130 million miles (210 million kilometers), NASA reports.
October 2 Mars will also be beating a comet of 18 million miles (30 million kilometers) from the Red Planet. Astronomically, it is a pretty close passage. The Earth is about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the sun.
The closest comet will come to the ground, December 19th. – 167 million miles (270 million kilometers), Masi reported.
Masi said the comet is currently visible in the Sagittarius constellation, which is best viewed from the southern night of the sky. Although July 10 The full moon of the moon will be difficult to observe 3i/Atlas, observations in the coming months, even with small telescopes, he added.
Astronomers hope that the comet will remain visible on the earth’s telescopes until September, before disappearing from the image. In early December, it should re -appear on the other side of the sun, enabling further observations.
Further investigation could reveal whether the comet looks equally in other solar systems, Kareta said.
Studying interstellar objects is also very important to gain a broader understanding of the planets outside our solar system and how they are formed, he added, describing these visitors as “some of the most charming things we discovered”.
“They are comet and asteroids that have formed around other stars – planets’ building blocks around the distant stars – which were thrown into the interstellar space, which we later find when they capture our solar system,” Kareta said. “We want to measure everything we can to compare them to our local comes and asteroids. They are big questions, but the fact that we can do any progress by exploring these charming objects should tell why planetary astronomers are so happy to know everything we can.”
Sign up CNN Wonderful Theory of Science Information Bulletin; Browse the universe with news about charming discoveries, scientific achievements and more.
To get more CNN news and newsletters, create an account on cnn.com