from the call-me-when-they-start-slowing-down dept.
Interstellar asteroids found hiding in plain sight
A new study has identified the first known permanent population of asteroids originating from outside our Solar System. The objects are believed to have been captured from other stars billions of years ago, and have been orbiting our Sun in disguise ever since. The work is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
The first interstellar visitor, the asteroid known as 'Oumuamua, hit the headlines in 2017, however it was just passing through. The newly-identified asteroids on the other hand are thought to have been present almost since the birth of our Solar System, 4.5 billion years ago in a star cluster where each sun had its own planets and asteroids.
"The close proximity of the stars meant that they felt each others' gravity much more strongly in those early days than they do today," explained Dr Fathi Namouni, lead author of the study. "This enabled asteroids to be pulled from one star system to another."
Also at ScienceAlert.
An interstellar origin for high-inclination Centaurs (open, DOI: 10.1093/mnras/staa712) (DX)
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 27 2020, @09:48AM (2 children)
I can't get enough of her. Kim Yo-jong. [biography.com]
Truly she will lead Best Korea into the glorious new world!
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 27 2020, @11:34AM (1 child)
If you read the news, you would already know that the rumors of Kim Il Jong's death are highly overrated, and being downplayed throughout the world right now.
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 27 2020, @11:38AM
Nonsense. We are but a short time away from her wrath. She is coming. She will rule like the lizard queen she appears to be.
ALL HAIL KIM YO-JONG! FUCK THE WORLD, SHE'S LAYING EGGS ALREADY!
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Phoenix666 on Monday April 27 2020, @11:57AM (3 children)
It's an amazing thought that if these objects are of extra-stellar origin, then we don't have to achieve light speed and travel to distant systems to sample their composition. It's almost as if the galaxy does home delivery.
We've found amino acids and other building blocks of life in comets and other objects from our solar system. If we find those on the extra-solar ones it would seem to boost the potential for a galaxy with ubiquitous life (as long as we can rule out cross-contamination from our system).
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by inertnet on Monday April 27 2020, @12:44PM (1 child)
I wonder if it will become possible to fingerprint those asteroids in a way that will enable us to identify other stars that originated from the same stellar birthplace.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Tuesday April 28 2020, @04:09AM
Yeah, that would be fascinating, wouldn't it? Not only would it tell us a lot about star formation, but might give us leads for where we could send probes to look for life.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Monday April 27 2020, @02:23PM
I for one would like to see more asteroids come under the ruthless domination of our solar system!