Astronomers track object that may have originated outside the solar system

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astronomers are monitoring an entity headed our mode that whitethorn person wandered implicit from different prima system.

Scientists person discovered what mightiness beryllium lone the 3rd known interstellar entity to walk done our star system, the European Space Agency said Wednesday.

The harmless entity is presently adjacent Jupiter hundreds of millions of miles (kilometers) distant and moving toward Mars, but it should get nary person to the prima than that, according to scientists.

It's excessively soon to cognize whether the object, designated for present arsenic A11pl3Z, is simply a rocky asteroid oregon a icy comet, oregon however large and what signifier it is. More observations are needed to corroborate its origins. NASA said it is monitoring the situation.

Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences adjacent Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar entity based connected its unusual way and utmost velocity cutting done the star system. He estimates its size astatine astir 25 miles (40 kilometers) across.

The archetypal confirmed interstellar visitant was successful 2017. It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, successful grant of the observatory successful Hawaii that discovered it. Classified astatine archetypal arsenic an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet.

The 2nd entity confirmed to person strayed from different prima strategy into our ain is 21/Borisov, discovered successful 2019 and believed to beryllium a comet.

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