Mysterious Object From Beyond Solar System May Be "Seed" Traveling Galaxy and Creating New Planets, Paper Finds

Futurism ^ | 21/9/25

[Eleutheria5]

Astronomers have been fascinated after spotting an object earlier this year that came from interstellar space as is now hurtling through our inner solar system.

Since then, they've been using powerful telescopes to study the mysterious object, trying to understand its unusual composition and exact origins. Most agree that it's probably a comet, albeit an unusual one, though at least one has posited that it could be a remnant of an advanced extraterrestrial civilization — a colorful claim, but one that NASA has disputed as a flight of fancy.

Regardless, it's an interesting visitor. In a paper presented at the Joint Meeting of the Europlanet Science Congress and the Division of Planetary Sciences last week in Germany, astrophysicist Susanne Pfalzner raised an intriguing possibility: objects like 3I/ATLAS could become the "seeds" of giant planets after being captured in the discs of dust and gas surrounding a young star.

"Interstellar objects may be able to jump-start planet formation, in particular around higher-mass stars," said Pfalzner in a statement.

It's an intriguing hypothesis that could potentially solve more than one mystery surrounding our understanding of how planets form over millions of years, and one that would make these lonely objects traveling vast distances far more influential than previously thought.

According to our current theory of planet formation, smaller particles lump together to form larger objects and eventually planet-sized bodies, a process known as accretion.

However, that doesn't explain why relatively large planets, such as gas giants, have been spotted orbiting young stars. Computer simulations have shown that accreted material tends to shatter and bounce off each other instead of lumping together.

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[niteowl]

We should be able to observe its encounter with Jupiter (next March-April?). If it’s near the same plane as the Jovian orbit, it should be interesting to see any change in trajectory, but with the velocity of its own hyperbolic orbit it would seem unlikely to be “captured”.

Then again, maybe it could be like the “2010” movie (which I loved)?

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

We can see more clearly now then we could in the past.

[Nateman]

It gets closer to Mars. Since that is also close to where it makes its closest approach to the Sun that is when the tail will be at its maximum. It is still pretty cold out that far so the tail won’t be very big.

[RaceBannon]

There is absolutely no verse in the Bible that says there was a world before the world. There is no gap between Genesis chapter 1 verse 1 and verse 2.

[PIF]

Sorry I meant to say in the Torah.