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It was in 2017 that astronomers discovered Oumuamua, touted as the first interstellar object to reach the solar system. In 2019, an amateur astronomer discovered another interstellar object now known as 2I / Borisov. Now, a team of researchers has discovered a swarm of 19 asteroids that currently lurk between Jupiter and Neptune. The scientists who made the discovery revealed that the rebel space bodies could have reached the solar system from another star system.
More details of the asteroids.
Although they came from another star system, asteroids have been orbiting the sun since the birth of the solar system. According to the researchers, the asteroids were part of a group of space objects known as centaurs. Objects could have been orbiting another star billions of years ago when stars were much closer to each other.
“The proximity of the stars meant that they felt each other’s gravity much stronger in those early days than they do today. This allowed the asteroids to be dragged from one star system to another,” said Fathi Namouni, a researcher at the Observatory. from the Cote d’Azur, in France.
Before reaching this conclusion, the researchers conducted computer simulations that date back to the days when the solar system was in its infant stages. Simulations suggested that the asteroid swarm orbited the Sun in a plane perpendicular to planetary motion during these ancient times. The mysterious asteroids were also located away from the disk, resulting in the formation of space bodies within the solar system, indicating that the space bodies are actually from a different star system.
Understanding interstellar asteroids
The researchers believe that the new discovery could help learn more about interstellar asteroids, and can also compare them to asteroids present in the solar system.
“Discovering an entire population of asteroids of interstellar origin is an important step in understanding the physical and chemical similarities and differences between interstellar and solar-born asteroids,” said Maria Helena Morais, co-author of the study, reports Science Alert. .
Will these asteroids hit the earth?
A few months ago, another study by researchers at the National Astronomical Observatory in Japan had suggested that asteroids lurking in the asteroid belt might one day get close to Earth for a possible collision. The asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars.
However, the newly discovered asteroids lie between Jupiter and Neptune, and as a result, the chances of a possible collision are much less.
