Interstellar visitors to the solar system are rare that's why astronomers freaked out back in 2017 when the first-ever interstellar asteroid passed by the system. However, the astronomers were late in identifying 'Oumuamua (which means 'scout' in the local language after being discovered using the Pan-STARRS at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii). They were able to spot the interstellar asteroid when it's already past Earth on its way to the outer parts of the solar system.
That's why scientists are more than excited when news broke out that there are a new interstellar visitors that is making its rounds in the solar system.
AN ACCIDENTAL DISCOVERY?
The new interstellar comet was discovered back on Aug. 30 by an amateur astronomer named Gennady Borisov from MARGO observatory in Crimea. Borisov, with the help of his self-made 0.65 meter telescope, observed that the mysterious interstellar comet has a comet-like appearance with a condensed coma.
Borisov then shared his discovery in an astronomy forum where he and other members of the forum -- amateur astronomers and scientists alike -- shared calculations and observations. Borisov and others theorized that the interstellar comet might only arc across the solar system and not loop endlessly through it.
On Sept. 24, the International Astronomical Union released a statement confirming the identity of the interstellar comet, which the union named 2I/Borisov after the amateur astronomer who discovered it. With this statement, the IAU also confirmed that 2I/Borisov is the second interstellar visitor that Earth has encountered.
NEW PHOTOS OF 2I/BORISOV
This month, new photos of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov captured by a team of astronomers from Yale University in Connecticut. The images were captured by Yale astronomers Pieter van Dokkum, Cheng-Han Hsieh, Shany Danieli, and Gregory Laughlin at the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii and show the tail of the interstellar comet measures up to 100,000 miles long -- at least 14 times greater than the Earth's diameter. Through the captured images, the team created an image that shows how the comet would look like side-by-side the Earth.
In a statement, Yale professor and lead author Pieter van Dokkum says, "it's humbling to realize how small Earth is next to this visitor from another solar system." Meanwhile, Gregory Laughlin explains that the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov is evaporating as it gets closer to the planet, releasing gas and fine dust in its tail. According to him, astronomers are taking advantage of Borisov's visit to obtain information about the building blocks of planets in other systems. In the image captured it is shown that the actual body of the interstellar comet is only a mile wide: as it starts to melt towards the Sun, the melting ice and gas gave the comet a ghostly appearance.
As of now, most astronomers assume that these interstellar visitors -- the 'Oumuamua and the Borisov -- are the tip of interstellar icebergs and the construction of large, new observatories will definitely help in estimating the population of interstellar visitors in the solar system which were probably missed.
The Borisov will be observed by high-powered telescopes in the Northern Hemisphere until January 2020, and will reach its nearest distance on Earth by Dec. 7.
