Artist impression of hyperbolic comet C/2019 Q4 (Borisov). Credit: SpaceEngine / Bob TrembleyOn September 10th, a tweet caught my attention:
Apparently the object named #gb00234 was a second interstellar object on a hyperbolic trajectory through the solar system! Over the next couple days, more information about the object was posted:
https://twitter.com/AscendingNode/status/1171627233066143744
https://twitter.com/AscendingNode/status/1171630290147500032
Then I saw this post, which had the comet’s name: C/2019 Q4:
I plugged the name into JPL’s Small Body Database Browser, and found it!
Hyperbolic comet C/2019 Q4 in the inner solar system. Credit: JPL Small Body Database.
Hyperbolic comet C/2019 Q4 hyperbolic trajectory in the outer solar system. Credit: JPL Small Body Database.Dr. Heidi Hammel tweeted that she wished people would not post about this new object using the image of asteroid ʻOumuamua, the first interstellar object detected:
So I created the new object in SpaceEngine, with an oblateness value of 0.8, and used that image as this post’s header – go ahead and use that image if you wish!
Here’s the artist impression image of asteroid ʻOumuamua to jog your memory:
Artist’s impression of ʻOumuamua, the first known interstellar object to pass through the Solar System. Original: ESO/M. Kornmesser Derivative: nagualdesignThis new object will be visible for months, making it’s closest approach to Earth in December; astronomers will have lots of time to observe it! I’ll be following developments, and keep you posted in my In the Sky posts.
