Artist’s illustration of planet formation.
Image credit: NASA / Lynette Cook
‘Oumuamua is likely a relatively young interstellar visitor from a binary star system.
ESO/M. Kornmesser
New research reveals the true nature of ‘Oumuamua, the cigar-shaped rock that recently visited Earth’s solar system.
Artist’s impression of the enigmatic space rock.
ESO/M. Kornmesser
Having discovered an asteroid from outside the solar system for the first time, scientists are hoping there are more out there – illuminating the path to extrasolar worlds.
It’s a bird… It’s a plane… No, it’s an object from another solar system! Astronomers have been scrambling to identify a mysterious object passing through our solar system at a speed of about 160,000 km/h. This NASA file image shows a simulation of asteroids passing the earth.
(Handout)
Astronomers have detected what is believed to be the first interstellar object ever seen passing through our solar system.