The newly published pictures of the Comet 2i Borisov of the Hubble Waterpaum Telescope of NASA are there. The device recorded the body from a distance of almost 300 million kilometers. The astronomers provided these with unprecedented details of the strange little comet, which seems to be 15 times smaller than predicted.
Recordings from Comet 2i Borisov
"Hubble gives us the best measure of the size of the core of Borisov, which this really important part of the comet is," says astronomer David Jewitt from the University of California in Los Angeles. “The radius is smaller than half a kilometer. This is important because we can determine the total number and mass of such objects in the solar system and in the Milky Way based on the size. ”
However, this list is currently too short. Only another object, an asteroid with the breathtaking name Oumuamua, was confirmed as an interstellar traveler. In August, the Crimean amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov observed a previously not listed comet. This came towards us at a distance of about the double lane of Mars.
After we had calculated the sums on their trajectory, it quickly became clear that the ball made of stone and ice could not come from the frozen waste on the edge of our own solar system, where other comets originated. It had to come from afar and fly towards the sun at an insane speed of around 175,000 kilometers per hour.
Cross the solar system
TwoFinding in two years is either a great stroke of luck or an indication that we will almost certainly find more of it if we look closely. The question is, how many should we calculate? "Borisov is the first known interstellare comet and we would like to know how many others there are," says Jewitt.
The comet seed is too small to be able to dissolve it from a distance of 298 million kilometers. This relatively low distance is currently putting it somewhere in the asteroid belt. But as you can see in the picture below, it still shows quite a picture. These latest pictures are breathtaking and reveal a fog of gas and dust, while the core that was frozen in the wilderness for a long time now slowly thaws into the warmth of the sun.
Hubble had previously caught the comet with a cheeky photo bomb of the spiral galaxy 2masx J10500165-0152029. You can see this picture at the top left, the bright central core of the galaxy is slightly smeared, while Hubble Borisov follows over the sky. Since the visitor defines the distance between him and our planet later this month, these pictures are roughly as much as it will be for 2i Borisov.
Hopefully we don't have to wait too long until we see another one who is exactly like us. Until then, we will surely have our cameras ready. Read morehere.
