Interstellar Visitor Borisov Could be First Truly Pristine Comet Yet Seen
upstart writes in with an IRC submission:
Interstellar visitor Borisov could be 1st truly pristine comet yet seen:
Comet 2I/Borisov is the 2nd known object to pass near our sun from outside our solar system. Its 2019 pass near our sun might have been its first-ever interaction with a star. If so, it's among the most pristine, or unspoiled, objects yet known.
We know of only two interstellar visitors - that is, visitors from other star systems - to our solar system. They are 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov. 'Oumuamua gets a lot of press as a strangely-shaped traveler that might be anything from a piece of an exoplanet to an alien spacecraft. The lesser known 2I/Borisov is more clearly a comet that might have originated near a red dwarf star. Its chemical signature suggests it may never have interacted with a star before.
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