Credit: NASA
Posted on 10/17/2019 10:32:15 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Hubble Space Telescope. The workhorse telescope has given us a photo of the new interstellar comet 2I/Borisov...
2I/Borisov has wandered into our Solar System from the deep cold of interstellar space, but nobody knows from whence it came, or how long it’s been travelling. Boris only the second object we’ve observed that’s come into our Solar System from somewhere else in the galaxy, and the Hubble snapped photos of it speeding along at about 177,000 kph (110,000 mph.) So far, the Hubble images are the sharpest ones yet.
Comets contain a lot of water ice and other volatiles. When they get close enough to the Sun, some of that ice sublimates into gas, creating the characteristic coma and tail that is clear in many comet images. A coma and a tail are clearly visible in these Hubble images of 2I/Borisov.
“Whereas ‘Oumuamua appeared to be a rock, Borisov is really active, more like a normal comet. It’s a puzzle why these two are so different,” said David Jewitt of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in a press release. Jewiit is the leader of the Hubble team who observed the comet.
Amateur astronomers have discovered a lot of comets, and this one is no exception. Amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov, from Crimea, discovered this one on August 30th, 2019. More observations from other amateur astronomers followed (they all talk to each other, you know.) Professional astronomers got involved too, and eventually the IAU’s Minor Planet Center and JPL’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies calculated the trajectory. That confirmed the object’s interstellar origins.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
Credit: NASA
There’s nothing like the universe to bring you down to earth.
Excellent post.
Thanks.
That’s really fast. I’d love to know how it achieved such a velocity.
The speed would come from the relative motion between the Solar system and the origin of the comet combined with the gravitational interaction that caused it to get ejected from its host star.
I don’t think the speed is all that fast for an interstellar object.
Looks like evidence of a deer hunter illegally shining deer on a foggy night.....
It'll humble you real quick.
If you live in the city with significant light pollution, if you count the visible stars you'd think it's no big deal. Got to get most folks out under dark skies for them to even begin to appreciate it.
true.
It’s insanely fast compared to the speeds we can achieve.
Hard to keep your mind on your work on a clear night.
Yes...I’ve done that. Amazing how many more stars you can see even with the city lights.
The stars on a clear moonless night here in the country make me tingle in awe.
“Hard to keep your mind on your work on a clear night.”
You an astronomer?
Plenty of Apps available for Star Watching type stuff.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/best-astronomy-apps/
Its all relative. :)
How I envy you having that just outside your door. I have to drive at least 100 miles to get anywhere outside the Houston light pollution bubble.
nope try again
It’s insanely fast compared to the speeds we can achieve.
...
Our own spacecraft heading toward the Sun achieve four times the speed.
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