An object supposed to come from outside the solar system, the third of interstellar type, was detected by astronomers, the European Space Agency (ESA) said on Wednesday.
Called A11PL3Z, he does not present a risk of collision with the earth, said to AFP the head of the planetary defense of ESA, Richard Moissl: “He will fly deep into the solar system, passing just in the orbit of Mars”.
Proof at an estimated speed up to 60 km/second, more than 200,000 km/hour, its trajectory “indicates that it is not in orbit around the sun, but comes from the interstellar space and will return to it”.
Official confirmation of its characteristics is expected from the center of minor planets of the international astronomical union, which has recorded more than one hundred observations of the object by astronomers.
Detected from June 14, it could be 10 to 20 km in diameter, or perhaps less according to Mr. Moissl.
“He will shine more and more and approach the sun until the end of October, and will still be observable until next year,” he said.
If its nature is officially confirmed, it would be the third object observed from the interstellar space. The first, Oumaumua, was detected in 2017. The second, 2i/Borisov, was in 2019.
A11PL3Z seems “to move much faster than the first two extra -sole objects that had been discovered,” Mark Norris, astronomer at the British University of Central Lancashire, told AFP.
According to him, modeling shows at least 10,000 interstellar objects circulating in the solar system at any time.
