Scientists confirm solar system's second interstellar visitor

The solar system is getting friendlier by the year it seems.

Following observations by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Solar System Dynamics Group, scientists confirmed that a comet seen traveling across the sky last month, which was thought to have come from a different solar system, is indeed "unambiguously" of interstellar origin.

The visitor also has a new name, 2I/Borisov. It's actually coming closer to Earth, CNN reports, and once it makes its way to the inner part of the solar system, scientists will be able to get a better understanding of it. Don't expect 2I/Borisov to stay for long, though. "The comet's current velocity is high, about 93,000 mph, which is well above the typical velocities of objects orbiting the Sun at that distance," NASA's David Farnoccia said. "The high velocity indicates not only that the object likely originated outside our solar system but also that it will leave and head back to interstellar space."

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

2I/Borisov was spotted about two years after the first known interstellar object, Oumuamua, entered the solar system in October 2017. Read more at CNN.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.