Comet 2I / Borisov was the second interstellar object ever discovered when it was detected in 2019. However, there may be up to 100 trillion interstellar objects like this in the solar system, significantly more common than it was thought, according to a new study.
Astronomers Amir Siraj and Avi Loeb of the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University suggest that about 1% of the carbon and oxygen in the Milky Way could be blocked in interstellar objects, with many of them located in the Oort cloud.
“There should be about one hundred trillion Borisov-like interstellar comets as far as the edge of the Oort cloud,” Loeb wrote in an email to DailyMail.com
Scientists believe there may be 100 trillion interstellar objects like comet 2I / Borisov in the solar system in the Oort cloud. The Oort cloud is a theoretical concept of icy objects in the farthest parts of the solar system
Comet 2I / Borisov (pictured) was discovered in August 2019 by astronomer Gennady Borisov
According to NASA, the Oort cloud is a theoretical concept of icy objects at the most remote ends of the solar system.
Scientists believe it is possible that the Oort cloud may contain up to 10 trillion objects, although that number is under debate, as it has never been observed.
Siraj and Loeb speculate that the number of interstellar objects exceeds the objects in the solar system in the Oort cloud.
“Before the detection of the first interstellar comet, we had no idea how many interstellar objects there were in our solar system, but the theory of the formation of planetary systems suggests that there should be fewer visitors than permanent residents. “Siraj, the study’s lead author, said in a statement.
The Oort cloud is a theoretical concept of icy objects in the farthest parts of the solar system
“We are now finding that there could be a substantial number of visitors.”
Discovered in August 2019 by astronomer Gennady Borisov, comet 2I / Borisov is believed to have come from a system of twin stars 13 light-years from Earth, which began its journey nearly a million years ago. years.
Suppose I see a half-mile stretch of railway for a day and watch a car cross it. I can say that, that day, the observed rate of cars crossing the railway section was one per day per mile, ”Siraj explained.
“But if I have reason to believe that the observation was not a one-time fact, for example, in noticing a couple of cross-doors built for cars, then I can go one step further and start making statistical conclusions about the rate set. of cars crossing this stretch of railway. ”
Research suggests that 1% of carbon and oxygen in the Milky Way are found in interstellar objects
Despite its supposed abundance, only two interstellar objects have been detected: Borisov and the much-debated “Oumuamua”.
When asked if any of the interstellar objects emanating from the Oort cloud could be similar in nature to “Oumuamua, Loeb told DailyMail.com that since it was not made of carbon or oxygen, it leaves open the possibility that the object is “artificial.” or extraterrestrial, of origin.
Siraj believes that this is due to the fact that humanity does not yet have the technology, when one considers that the Oort cloud is between 200 and 100 trillion kilometers away from the sun and the objects in the cloud do not produce the its own light.
Senior astrophysicist Matthew Holman, who did not participate in the study, said the research could have broader implications much closer to Earth and help humanity better understand the solar system.
“These results suggest that the abundances of interstellar and Oort cloud objects are comparable closer to the Sun than to Saturn,” Holman explains in the statement. “This can be proven with current and future surveys of the solar system.”
“When we look at asteroid data from this region, the question is, are there any asteroids that are really interstellar that we didn’t quite recognize before?” he asked.
“We think they’re asteroids, and then we lose them without taking a detailed look.”
Siraj hopes that next-generation technology, such as the launch of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, scheduled for 2022, will help discover more interstellar objects.
Other telescopes, such as the Transneptunian Automatic Concealment Survey, which may go online later this year, may also help humanity find more objects and interstellar remains left over from when the planets formed. .
“Our findings show that interstellar objects can place interesting constraints on the formation processes of the planetary system, as their implicit abundance requires a significant mass of material to be ejected in the form of planetesimals,” Siraj explained.
“Along with observational studies of protoplanetary disks and computational approaches to planet formation, the study of interstellar objects could help us unlock the secrets of how our planetary system and others formed.”
The research has been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
WHAT IS 2I / BORISOV?
2I / Borisov is a comet that came from outside the solar system.
It is believed to have a core that is about 1.4 to 6.6 kilometers in diameter.
A study has found that the interstellar comet 2I / Borisov, which is currently visiting our solar system, is home to water from another star system.
The comet was seen by amateur astronomer Gennady Borisov of the Crimean MARGOT Observatory on August 30, 2019.
It will make its closest passage to the Sun on December 8, 2019, but will not approach any of the planets in the solar system.
2I / Borisov will leave the solar system in the direction of the constellation Telescopium.
According to Polish researchers, it probably originated in the Kruger 60 binary red dwarf star system.
The comet is only the second interstellar visit ever seen.
The first was the cigar-shaped asteroid 1I / ‘Oumuamua, which was detected on October 19, 2017.