Giant object from deep space spotted blazing through our solar system
Interstellar object headed towards Mars, but poses no threat to Earth, says head of planetary defence at the ESA
Astronomers on Wednesday confirmed the discovery of an interstellar object racing through our solar system – only the third ever spotted, though scientists suspect many more may slip past unnoticed.
The visitor from the stars, designated 3I/Atlas by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Centre, is likely the largest yet detected. It has been classified as a comet.
“The fact that we see some fuzziness suggests that it is mostly ice rather than mostly rock,” Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, said.
Originally known as A11pl3Z before it was confirmed to be of interstellar origin, the object poses no threat to Earth, said Richard Moissl, head of planetary defence at the European Space Agency.
“It will fly deep through the solar system, passing just inside the orbit of Mars,” he said, “but will not hit our neighbouring planet, he said.
Excited astronomers were still refining their calculations, but the object appears to be zooming more than 60km (37 miles) a second.