We Have Visitors

We Have Visitors

Astronomers were baffled last week when they noticed an interstellar object moving at high speeds through our solar system – the first time such an event has occurred.

Now they are racing to learn more about this strange visitor before it disappears.

Named A/2017 U1, it is likely an asteroid about a quarter of a mile long. It was first noticed by scientists Oct. 19 and was instantly flagged for its incredible speed – so fast that the Sun couldn’t catch it in its orbit, the New York Times reported.

That’s due to the asteroid’s very old hyperbolic orbit, which slings it past celestial bodies at speeds high enough to overpower their gravitational pull. That means that A/2017 U1 will eventually leave our solar system.

The asteroid came within about 15 million miles of Earth on Oct. 14, passing by at a speed of about 37 miles per second – more than three times the escape velocity of the New Horizons spacecraft.

But movie lovers should have no fear – neither aliens, nor an interstellar Armageddon is in the cards, NASA’s planetary defense officers say.