Many celestial nomads are in space, and there could be more than stars. Experts are expecting to find more interstellar objects like 'Oumuamua and Borisov.
'Oumuamua and Borisov -- 2 Interstellar Objects in the Solar System
The purpose of the Pan-STARRS1 telescope is to search the sky for fleeting phenomena such as comets or asteroid flybys. An odd object not gravitationally connected to the Sun or any other astronomical body streaked across the telescope's field of view on Oct. 17 and 18, 2017. It reportedly came from a different location.
The enigmatic object was the first interstellar visitor to be seen traveling through our solar system. Astronomers appropriated a Hawaiian term that roughly translates to "messenger from afar arriving first" and named it 1I/'Oumuamua.
Two years later, in August 2019, amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov used a self-built telescope at the MARGO observatory in Nauchnij, Crimea, to discover the only other known interstellar interloper, now called 2I/Borisov.
'Oumuamua and Borisov are celestial nomads that spend most of their time wandering interstellar space, unlike ordinary asteroids and comets in the Solar System that circle the Sun. Although their existence in the Solar System has been suggested, scientists anticipated these extraterrestrials would be uncommon. Astrophysicist Susanne Pfalzner of the Jülich Supercomputing Center in Germany admitted she never thought they would see one.
The two findings have led scientists to believe that interstellar invaders occur far more frequently than previously thought. According to UCLA planetary scientist David Jewitt, there may currently be 10,000 "Oumuamua-sized interstellar objects" in Neptune's orbit alone.
According to astronomers, the Milky Way may include more interstellar objects than stars in the visible universe. Discovering more of them will provide a fresh approach to examining the universe's secrets.
Ya think? Lotta "interstellar objects" out there.
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