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First Extrasolar Object Observed Racing Through Our Solar System (space.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the first-of-its-kind dept.

Enigma2175 writes: For the first time, scientists have observed an object they believe came from outside our solar system. The object is in a hyperbolic orbit that will send it back into interstellar space. From Space.com: "The object, known as A/2017 U1, was detected last week by researchers using the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope in Hawaii. 'It's long been theorized that such objects exist -- asteroids or comets moving around between the stars and occasionally passing through our solar system -- but this is the first such detection,' Chodas added. 'So far, everything indicates this is likely an interstellar object, but more data would help to confirm it.' It's unclear what exactly this thing is. When A/2017 U1 was first spotted, it was thought to be a comet (and was therefore given the moniker C/2017 U1). But further observations have revealed no evidence of a coma -- the fuzzy cloud of gas and dust surrounding a comet's core -- so the object's name was amended to its current asteroidal designation."

20 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Hollowed manned asteroid by TheDarkMaster · · Score: 4, Funny

    The first on many... :-)

    --
    Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
    1. Re:Hollowed manned asteroid by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

      Just in time for Holloween?

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
  2. Rendezvous with Rama by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Arthur C. Clarke was right again!

    1. Re:Rendezvous with Rama by Oswald+McWeany · · Score: 4, Funny

      Its a pretty slow space craft. I doubt it came from Vega.

      Slow is relative. It could be populated by a race of space sloths.

      --
      "That's the way to do it" - Punch
  3. Que Randezvous with Rama by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The object definitely deserves a more prosaic name. Like Rama... :-)

    1. Re:Que Randezvous with Rama by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      "Rendezvous with Rama" was a great book.

  4. Re:Greeting from the Outer Space at Halloween! by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 4, Funny

    How appropriate!

    Well, I sure hope that the UN Security Council is working feverishly on creating a stockpile of young virgins and candy . . .

    . . . just in case the aliens stop by the Earth, ring our doorbell, and demand a "trick or treat" . . .

    --
    Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
  5. How to kickstart space exploration by petes_PoV · · Score: 4, Funny

    Just wait for the course correction

    --
    politicians are like babies' nappies: they should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons
    1. Re:How to kickstart space exploration by GrumpySteen · · Score: 3, Funny

      That's an interesting idea. If you could covertly adjust the course of an asteroid as passed by Earth so that nobody knew why it changed, it would cause a huge reaction.

      Any billionaires out there feel like trolling the entire human race?

  6. (Arnold J. Rimmer voice) by sheramil · · Score: 4, Funny

    "ALIENS!"

  7. Re:Greeting from the Outer Space at Halloween! by GrumpySteen · · Score: 4, Funny

    That'll also be useful if Harvey Weinestein stops by

  8. Already on the way out. by MiniMike · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's already heading out of the solar system, so no need to worry about any malicious intent. TFA says that it passed perihelion around Sep. 9. It was closest to the Earth on Oct 14, at about 15 million miles (24 million km, sorry don't have it in LOC). It's heading toward the constellation Pegasus at over 97000 mph. Maybe we'll send them a warning in a few years?

    It's a bit unsettling that we didn't notice this until it had passed the earth at a relatively close distance, and passed through the plane of the ecliptic twice. I know the chances of an impact are very low, but the late detection indicates that we may be missing an unknown number of events like this, and may not be correct about estimates of the chances of being hit by one.

    1. Re:Already on the way out. by Baron_Yam · · Score: 3, Interesting

      >We know the chances of being hit by an object by looking at how many objects hit planets.

      Also, to some degree, by common sense. Most of the dust spinning around our star that is going to collide with something has had five billion years to do so, and the clumps of matter formed in the process do a fairly good job of sweeping up the leftovers around the edges before they can get as close to the Sun as we are here on Earth.

      I am not an astronomer, but I would anticipate that (given our star formed later than most) most of our neighbouring systems are in a similar state or even more orderly, so they wouldn't have much left in the way of significant rocks to lose to us in any gravitational tug-of-war.

      And after that comes the fact that space is huge relative to the Solar System (making it unlikely any rogue rocks will come significantly within its gravity well), and the Solar System is huge relative to the Earth (making it unlikely any rogue rocks that actually venture into the Solar gravity well will also dip into Earth's). And the Earth itself is tiny so even something flying through our gravity well isn't particularly likely to impact our planet if it's travelling faster than Solar escape velocity (which it pretty much has to have been after falling into the Solar gravity well from outside it).

      I gotta tell you... I am not particularly worried about my lack of insurance coverage in the event of loss due to extra-Solar impactor.

    2. Re:Already on the way out. by SecurityGuy · · Score: 4, Funny

      It's already heading out of the solar system, so no need to worry about any malicious intent.

      Somewhere, someone just deleted a voluminous bit of text, replaced it with "Mostly harmless.", and went on listening to Vogon poetry.

  9. Re:Penoid by Big+Hairy+Ian · · Score: 4, Informative

    Interesting that it came in perpendicular to the ecliptic plane inside Mercury's orbit slingshots around the sun and then makes a b-line for Earth making a close approach at 15 million miles.

    --

    Build a Man a Fire, and He'll Be Warm for a Day. Set a Man on Fire, and He'll Be Warm for the Rest of His Life.

  10. Just over solar escape speed by GlobalEcho · · Score: 4, Informative

    Escape speed from 1 AU (Earth's orbital radius) is about 42 km/s. The speed of this object, stated as 156,400 km/h, is just over 43/km/h. Assuming the object is a bit more than 1 AU from the Sun right now, it will escape the solar system but not by a wide margin.

    1. Re:Just over solar escape speed by GlobalEcho · · Score: 3, Interesting

      In this case, the margin I have in mind is in kinetic energy terms. It won't end up infinitely far away because it is nowhere near galactic escape velocity.

  11. BUGS! by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Bugs send another meteor our way !
    But this time we are ready !
    Planetary defenses are better than ever !
    Would you like to know more ?

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
  12. Re:Penoid by GunJah · · Score: 3, Funny

    If I were an Alien in charge of designing a close reconnaissance of Earth, I could not have planned a better trajectory than this.
    Perhaps A/2017 U1's mothership will rendezvous just outside the oort cloud.

  13. Re: Penoid by LifesABeach · · Score: 4, Funny

    A signal was received from the artifact. NASAâ(TM)s super computers decoded the message. The message reads, âoeSend more Chuck Berryâ