The second interstellar travel object to the Solar System

The researchers concluded that a 20km diameter comet could come from outside the solar system based on its unusual orbit.

Asteroid center (MPC) at Harvard University discovered comets suspected to be the second interstellar object after the elongated object 'Oumuamua was identified in 2017. The new object is called comet C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov) appears to have hyperbolic curve trajectory, revealing its origins from its other planetary system.

The newly discovered comet has a hyperbolic orbit with high eccentricity.(Photo: BBC).

The hyperbolic orbit is eccentric. A perfect circle has an eccentricity of 0. The elliptical orbits of many planets, asteroids and comets have eccentricities between 0 and 1. Comet C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov) has a deviation The mind is 3.2 based on current observations.

Amateur observer Gennady Borisov noticed this comet on August 30 at the Crimea Astrophysical Observatory in Bakhchysarai. At that time, C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov) was three astronomical units from the Sun (about 450 million km).

'Oumuamua, discovered on October 19, 2017, was originally classified as a comet based on its hyperbolic flight path. But subsequent observations found no sign of coma, the gas surrounding the comet core. In contrast, C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov) is a working comet with coma and the tail is clearly visible.

Unlike the small and dim 'Oumuamua', C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov) seems quite large, 20km wide and very bright. 'Oumuamua is monitored after it is closest to the Sun (near-perpendicular), so the results of the observations are not clear enough for astronomers to answer many questions. However, C / 2019 Q4 (Borisov) is still approaching the Solar System and will not reach its perihelion by September 10.

The Asteroid Center calls on astronomers to continue observing the object for at least 12 months. This discovery gives them an interesting opportunity to learn about the characteristics of objects that are more likely to come from distant stars.

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