According to a recent discovery, the first known interstellar comet likely remains pristine, meaning it hadn’t encountered any stars before visiting our solar system.
In 2019, scientists spotted the comet 2I/Borisov as it wandered into our solar system. Its speed and trajectory helped unveil clues about its origin.
2I/Borisov officially became the first recorded interstellar comet to enter our solar system, following in the footsteps of the interstellar object Oumuamua that paid us an unexpected visit from interstellar space.
To date, astronomer Stefano Bagnulo from the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in Northern Ireland has unveiled new findings. “2I/Borisov could represent the first pristine interstellar comet ever observed,” according to a report published in the journal Nature Communications.
Bagnulo’s team suggests that this comet hadn’t come close to any stars before passing by our sun in 2019.
In a separate report, Chilean researchers aimed to gather insights into its formation and home star system based on data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile and the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
According to Bin Yang, an ESO scientist, the comet 2I/Borisov was composed of materials originating from various places within its home star system before being flung into our solar system by massive planets in its native neighborhood.