Astronomers capture image of mysterious interstellar comet
By Harry Pettit , The Sun , November 27, 2019
Yale astronomers captured this new data image of Comet 2I/Borisov using W.M. Keck Observatory's Low Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. P. van Dokkum, G. Laughlin, C. Hsieh, S. Danieli/Yale University
A mysterious object hurtling toward our solar system from deep space has been photographed by scientists.
The incoming comet is like nothing scientists have seen before and is believed to have come from another star system.
That makes the visitor, known as 2I/Borisov, only the second interstellar object ever spotted in our solar system.
Discovered in August, Borisov has traveled at least 7 trillion miles to get here and will make its close approach to Earth next month.
Experts captured a closeup of the object Sunday using a telescope at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii.
The image, taken by Yale University scientists, showed the comet surrounded by a bright white glow.
Made up of ice and other debris crumbling from Borisov’s main body, the ghostly tail stretches a staggering 100,000 miles.
That makes it longer than 12 Earths stacked side by side behind the comet.
“It’s humbling to realize how small Earth is next to this visitor from another solar system,” said Yale scientist Dr. Pieter van Dokkum.
Borisov is only the second interstellar object spotted in our cosmic neighborhood. The first was ‘Oumuamua in 2017.
How the object will look passing by Earth, P. van Dokkum, G. Laughlin, C. Hsieh, S. Danieli/Yale University
Traveling at around 110,000 mph, the interloper will pass roughly 190 million miles from Earth in December, according to NASA.
That’s about twice the average distance from Earth to the sun.
Borisov’s breakneck speed indicates it came from interstellar space and will likely return there again sometime next year.
Unlike ‘Oumuamua, which was only spotted as it sped past Earth, scientists saw Borisov coming weeks before its visit.
This has allowed them to study it extensively before it shoots off into interstellar space again.
“Comet Borisov will eventually leave our solar system,” University of California astronomer Dr. Paul Kalas wrote last month.
“Until then we should all enjoy the marvelous beauty of our alien comet friend.”
Despite numerous attempts to study Borisov, scientists remain clueless as to what it is. Many speculate the distant mass is a comet.
Experts say it’ll take a few more months to plot the object’s full trajectory, which may yield clues as to what it is and where it came from.
In studying it, scientists hope to shed light on how comets and other objects form in distant star systems.
The goal is to get a better understanding of how the universe ticks outside of our Milky Way.
According to prominent astronomer Dr. Seth Shostak, 76, we can’t say for sure Borisov is not an alien probe sent to study our planet.
“We can’t rule out that this is an interstellar probe,” Shostak, a senior astronomer at the SETI Institute in California, told the Sun in September.
“If we get a closeup look, we may well see it has a metal exterior with portholes and little green faces looking out at us.
“However, I would bet next month’s paycheck this is a comet.”
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