Asteroid is first interstellar visitor to our solar system (that we know of)
- 6 years ago
THE SPACE BETWEEN MARS AND JUPITER — NASA says a recently discovered asteroid is our solar system's first interstellar visitor.
The asteroid was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System in Hawaii on October 19, 2017.
NASA-funded research published in the journal Nature says it is the first interstellar object to enter our solar system and will travel inside it for over a year.
Scientists speculate the asteroid is 400 meters long, and around 40 m wide. A lot about it is unknown, but the asteroid could be made up materials like metals or rocks, and is likely to be billions of years old.
NASA says the asteroid will exit the solar system in January 2019 after passing through Saturn's orbit. It will next head for the Pegasus constellation.
The asteroid was discovered by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System in Hawaii on October 19, 2017.
NASA-funded research published in the journal Nature says it is the first interstellar object to enter our solar system and will travel inside it for over a year.
Scientists speculate the asteroid is 400 meters long, and around 40 m wide. A lot about it is unknown, but the asteroid could be made up materials like metals or rocks, and is likely to be billions of years old.
NASA says the asteroid will exit the solar system in January 2019 after passing through Saturn's orbit. It will next head for the Pegasus constellation.