A newly discovered asteroid / comet could have come from a territory outside our system. If so, then we will be able to fix the first such object.
This is an unusual celestial body, called A / 2017 U1. It occupies less than 400 km in diameter and moves at a rapid speed. Scientists at a fast pace agree on the work of telescopes around the world and in space, to examine in detail the finding.
A / 2017 U1 was noticed on October 19 in the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope (Hawaii). It became clear that this is not an ordinary object. The motion cannot be explained using the asteroid model of our system or the comet's orbital path. Evidence suggests that this body is not moving in our system. The CNEOS team, which was also able to make predictions, undertook to create the object's flight path. A / 2017 U1 is approaching from the Lyra territory, flying through interstellar space at an acceleration of 25.5 km / s.
The object approached the system above the ecliptic, so there was no danger of hitting one of the planets. On September 2, the body passed under the ecliptic in the orbit of Mercury, and on September 9 it approached the Sun. The closest approach to the Earth was on October 14 at a distance of 24 million km. At the same time, the comet / asteroid increased speed to 44 km / s and rushed towards the constellation Pegasus.
A / 2017 U1 - the first such object that was found. Now, the MAC should deal with the designation of its type and characteristics.
