Thoughts on the newly discovered interstellar comet?

Thoughts on the newly discovered interstellar comet?

To me, the trajectory we're being shown suggests that if it isn't trapped by the gravity of our star, it will be flung into the next system until it reaches that perfect point where gravity finally reels it in and it becomes part of its newly visited solar system.

Also, how are we to know that some of the comets that circulate around our solar system didn't originate from interstellar space? The calculations are based on present data. What about when galileo was using primitive(comparative to now) instruments? They can't know where these objects originated from after a certain amount of time. They just appear to have come from the keiper belt or oort cloud etc.

Thoughts...?

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theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/27/mysterious-object-detected-speeding-past-the-sun-could-be-from-another-solar-system-a2017-u1
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The comet is known as C/2017 U1
Discovered in september of this year

>>trying to figure out a trajectory from a 2d picture

>> how are we to know that some of the comets that circulate around our solar system didn't originate from interstellar space?
looking at their trajectories.

>>What about when galileo was using primitive(comparative to now) instruments?
hundreds of years of data sure helps with averaging out errors.

Doesn't take a scientist to see, based on the 2d image, that thing is getting thrown out of our system.

And factoring out the errors? On what data are you to assume an error is an error?

On October 25, in very deep stacked images taken at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) the object was found to show no presence whatsoever of any cometary nature. The object was renamed A/2017 U1, becoming the first[citation needed] comet to ever be re-designated as an asteroid.[4]

Its asteroidal nature indicates that it must have formed within the frost line of whatever stellar system it originated from, or have been in the inner solar system long enough for all ice to sublimate.

I thought this image was accurate? Isn't the Oort Cloud large enough and far enough away from the planets that this comet could have come from way out there?

real shit?

That's what I thought also, but I gotta look it up. But 50,000 a.u. ... dude that's farrout

Anybody getting a Rendezvous with Rama feel from this?

Think of speed in terms of energy. A body entering the solar system from outside is going to carry with it its energy that brought it to the solar system, and gain more energy as the Sun pulls it in. It will always retain the energy needed to escape again, unless it interacts sufficiently with a third body to alter its course and absorb some of that energy by changing the course.

So if it comes from outside, it will most likely escape again.

If it comes from the Oort cloud (gravitationally a member of the solar system), it will return to the Oort cloud.

I think it's not a comet by current understanding. ~100-200 meter asteroid, definitely extra-solar based on speed and trajectory.

Stuff coming from outside our system usually is moving too fast to hang around.

>usually is moving too fast
... always ...

Not always

There's ways it can get captured by the sun even if it's moving at solar escape velocity to begin with.

Lots and lots of variables.

involving... ?

getting a big gravity assist from one or more planets.

unbalanced outgassing creating a thrust.

This object will absolutely not be captured, it's going something like 26km/s above escape velocity. This also proves it's interstellar in origin; nothing in our solar system could get it going that fast.

The outgassing thing is spurious. The likelihood that the object is *not* spinning (thus canceling a thrust in a single direction, let alone the right direction) is incredibly small.

Gravitational assist I'll buy. I should have posted the link to my earlier notes on that:
But again, I'll stress the likelihood is tiny.

Okay, so not *always* escape. Absolutes are tricky. So let's rephrase.

They &always& enter the solar system with excessive energy. There are extremely unlikely scenarios where there is a possibility that they could get captured. The odds increase with lower initial energy and increased numbers and masses of planets in a system.

Virtually nil.

Fuckin space is lousy with rocks bro

this

Definitely this, m8. How do we know it's not an alien ship?
Was it possible to take pictures of this visitor asteroid? Asking for a friend.

>How do we know it's not an alien ship?
*sigh* .....

Do you have to be schizophrenic to throw around hypotheses like this? Asking for a friend.

i have a related question

is it true that every comet we found on earth till now was coming out of our own solarsystem? we didn't found a interstellar comet on earth yet? how do we even know where it's coming from?

please respond desu

For my part, to answer that I'd have to research on the net.

Why don't you do that and let us know? It's your question.

>“When we run the orbit for this [object] back in time, it stays hyperbolic all the way out – there are no close approaches to any of the giant planets that could have given this thing a kick,” he said. “If we follow the orbit out into the future, it stays hyperbolic,” Williams added. “So it is coming from interstellar space and it is going to interstellar space.”
theguardian.com/science/2017/oct/27/mysterious-object-detected-speeding-past-the-sun-could-be-from-another-solar-system-a2017-u1

Well, seems like jeb's got a new job.

i just read a (good researched) book that claim that every comet found on earth yet was from our solar system. since everything else i researched from the book i found out to be truth, i assume that the autor did his homework and the "fact" with the interstellar comets is true too.

the book was "ice ship" from douglas preston and lincoln child