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https://theconversation.com/astronomers-have-spied-an-interstellar-object-zooming-through-the-solar-system-260422>
"This week, astronomers spotted the third known interstellar visitor to our
Solar System.
First detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on
July 1, the cosmic interloper was given the temporary name A11pl3Z. Experts at
NASA’s Center for Near Earth Object Studies and the International Astronomical
Union (IAU) have confirmed the find, and the object now has an official
designation: 3I/ATLAS.
There are a few strong clues that suggest 3I/ATLAS came from outside the Solar
System.
First, it’s moving really fast. Current observations show it speeding through
space at around 245,000km per hour. That’s more than enough to escape the Sun’s
gravity.
An object near Earth’s orbit would only need to be travelling at just over
150,000km/h to break free from the Solar System.
Second, 3I/ATLAS has a wildly eccentric orbit around the Sun. Eccentricity
measures how “stretched” an orbit is: 0 eccentricity is a perfect circle, and
anything up to 1 is an increasingly strung-out ellipse. Above 1 is an orbit
that is not bound to the Sun.
3I/ATLAS has an estimated eccentricity of 6.3, by far the highest ever recorded
for any object in the Solar System."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
