A visitor from outer space: Astrophysicists struggle to determine the origin of fast-moving object zipping across the Solar System – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

A visitor from outer space: Astrophysicists struggle to determine the origin of fast-moving object zipping across the Solar System




A/2017 U1 is the codename given to a fast-moving object that’s currently doing the rounds across the Solar System.

The object is about a quarter of a mile in size, moving at about 15.8 miles per second on a strong hyperbolic orbit (that is, it is moving fast enough to escape the gravitational pull of the sun). The only problem is, astronomers don’t know exactly what A/2017 U1 actually is.

The object was first spotted by the University of Hawaii’s Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on Haleakala, Hawaii on October 19. STARSS 1 has been tracking the unidentified object since.

Early observations have determined that A/2017 U1’s composition is similar to that from celestial bodies found in the Kuiper Belt, a region beyond Neptune that contains remnants from the formation of the Solar System.

The trajectory of A/2017 U1 seems to suggest that it entered the Solar System from above. Researchers have postulated that the object may have originated from elsewhere in the galaxy, which would make A/2017 U1 the very first known visitor from outer space.

Astronomers will keep tracking this peculiar phenomenon to ascertain whether or not it is an object extraneous to our Solar System.

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