CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -A rare object entered our solar system last month and now astronomers have confirmed it is the second interstellar comet ever detected. It was given the name “2I/Borisov” on Tuesday, but researchers have no idea where it came from.

Detailed explanation-2: -What is 2I/Borisov? We’ve said it’s the second interstellar visitor and the first known interstellar comet. That is, it’s a comet from another star system. The first interstellar object was spotted by astronomers in Hawaii in late 2017.

Detailed explanation-3: -The first interstellar object which was discovered traveling through our Solar System was 1I/ʻOumuamua in 2017. The second was 2I/Borisov in 2019. They both possess significant hyperbolic excess velocity, indicating they did not originate in the Solar System.

Detailed explanation-4: -And the existence of small bodies visiting from interstellar space wasn’t a surprise. In fact, interstellar interlopers such as ‘Oumuamua and Borisov, the only two discovered so far, had been predicted long before.

Detailed explanation-5: -ʻOumuamua is the first interstellar object detected passing through the Solar System.