Mysterious object from deep space has entered the solar system
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2stepz_ahead
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http://www.foxnews.com/science/2017/10/27/mysterious-object-from-deep-space-has-entered-solar-system.html
It was first seen just a month ago. A tiny blip of light was seen to be moving through the sky by the PanSTARRS1 telescope in Hawaii.
The number-crunching which followed was automatic. The results were unusual.
This object is in an odd position. It’s moving very fast. And it’s in what appears to be a somewhat extreme orbit. Extreme enough not to actually be an orbit, in fact.
Observations published by the by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center (MPC) suggest it could have come from deep space.
Specifically, it could be a comet that has escaped another star.
“If further observations confirm the unusual nature of this orbit, this object may be the first clear case of an interstellar comet,” the MPC declares.
WHAT IS C/2017 U1?
The PanSTARRS telescope spotted the object only after it was flung back out towards the stars by our Sun.
It’s not likely to ever return. It flashed past Earth at 24 million kilometres on October 14.
Many eyes watched it closely, keen to determine exactly what it was. Their curiosity was piqued by where it had come from.
Most objects orbiting our Sun do so along a common plane: the planets, dwarf planets and asteroids mostly swing around in roughly the same way.
This one appears to have come down on the plane from 122 degrees, from the direction of the star Vega, in the constellation Lyra. And its path did not indicate the curved ellipse typical of clockwork-like returning comets.
Best guesstimates make it a comet of about 160m diameter, with a surface reflectivity (albedo) of about 10 per cent.
A WANDERER
The object has just been through a close call (in Solar System terms): it came within 38 million km of our star before its momentum and the Sun’s gravity hurled it back outward.
Normally such a close pass would be fatal. But C/2017U1 was travelling too fast for the Sun’s heat to consume it.
It was moving at 26km per second when first observed.
Astronomers are now attempting to refine their observations and data to pinpoint exactly where it came from. If it truly is of interstellar origin, the next task is to find which star it is likely to have come from.
At the moment, it appears to have been somewhere in the direction of the star Vega.
It’s also likely to have been wandering, alone, in deep space for a very, very long time.
Vega is a relatively close neighbour of our Sun at 25 light years distance. At the speed it’s travelling, it would take about 1.7 million years to cross the interstellar divide.
It was first seen just a month ago. A tiny blip of light was seen to be moving through the sky by the PanSTARRS1 telescope in Hawaii.
The number-crunching which followed was automatic. The results were unusual.
This object is in an odd position. It’s moving very fast. And it’s in what appears to be a somewhat extreme orbit. Extreme enough not to actually be an orbit, in fact.
Observations published by the by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center (MPC) suggest it could have come from deep space.
Specifically, it could be a comet that has escaped another star.
“If further observations confirm the unusual nature of this orbit, this object may be the first clear case of an interstellar comet,” the MPC declares.
WHAT IS C/2017 U1?
The PanSTARRS telescope spotted the object only after it was flung back out towards the stars by our Sun.
It’s not likely to ever return. It flashed past Earth at 24 million kilometres on October 14.
Many eyes watched it closely, keen to determine exactly what it was. Their curiosity was piqued by where it had come from.
Most objects orbiting our Sun do so along a common plane: the planets, dwarf planets and asteroids mostly swing around in roughly the same way.
This one appears to have come down on the plane from 122 degrees, from the direction of the star Vega, in the constellation Lyra. And its path did not indicate the curved ellipse typical of clockwork-like returning comets.
Best guesstimates make it a comet of about 160m diameter, with a surface reflectivity (albedo) of about 10 per cent.
A WANDERER
The object has just been through a close call (in Solar System terms): it came within 38 million km of our star before its momentum and the Sun’s gravity hurled it back outward.
Normally such a close pass would be fatal. But C/2017U1 was travelling too fast for the Sun’s heat to consume it.
It was moving at 26km per second when first observed.
Astronomers are now attempting to refine their observations and data to pinpoint exactly where it came from. If it truly is of interstellar origin, the next task is to find which star it is likely to have come from.
At the moment, it appears to have been somewhere in the direction of the star Vega.
It’s also likely to have been wandering, alone, in deep space for a very, very long time.
Vega is a relatively close neighbour of our Sun at 25 light years distance. At the speed it’s travelling, it would take about 1.7 million years to cross the interstellar divide.
Comments
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Thats my ride im getting off this stupid planet...
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Here comes our Grim Reaper
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foxnews ? nah son
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So are we dying?
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One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
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Starship trooper bugs
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norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
It never fails.
Someone @ the whole board and lets get this ? started. -
The reach
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Call up Will Smith
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It's 2pac's return.
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norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
How you technically correct and still dumb as ? ? -
norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
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I'm ready!
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norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
were you from down north?
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2stepz_ahead wrote: »norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
were you from down north?
technically the sun is north of the earth, so the south is north and the North is south, and maps are depicted right side up when in reality they are upsides down -
norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
? , no.
If space doesn't exist then neither does time amongst other fundamental pillars of existence.
We're not doing this today. -
2stepz_ahead wrote: »norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
were you from down north?
technically the sun is north of the earth, so the south is north and the North is south, and maps are depicted right side up when in reality they are upsides down
if you are not from philly you wont understand.
im from north philly....but also lived in germantown.
they call germantown uptown and north philly you have to go down to get to.
hence
we going down north to see these ? . -
Most likely a comet or asteroid passing through. We'll know when it gets closer to see
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norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
What do you think you're looking at at night?
@Busta Carmichael we got another one -
norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
Ayo
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There is only 'space' because there are objects. And that which is thought to be 'empty space' between those things is also not space but filled with a atoms.
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norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
YouTube degree ? smh -
norfphilly wrote: »One could argue space doesn't exist. And when it comes down to it there really....I mean really isn't any proof.
you failed at being a smart dumb ? -
Neil deGrasse Tyson rollin over in his grave right now..
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there aint enough drugs for this ? today