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Interstellar objects entering the solar system are rare. So rare, in fact, that the one astronomers are watching right now is just the third ever observed. Coronal mass ejections aren’t quite that rare, but they don’t happen all the time either.
So, when astronomers realized that the sun had sent out a solar mass ejection and that it was directed at the path of the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, they were excited.
The solar material and the object should have recently collided, and now we are just waiting for the data from any potential observations to come in and for astronomers and other experts to analyze it.
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The last time something similar happened was in April of 2007, when an asteroid from within the solar system collided with the sun’s plasma. NASA’s STEREO A spacecraft was able to watch this occur. When it happened, the asteroid briefly lost its tail due to the interaction with the solar material. In a blog post from 2015, NASA wrote:
“The effect, however, was only temporary — within minutes a new tail formed.”
Since 3I/ATLAS is coming from outside the solar system and researchers don’t yet have a complete picture of what it is made of, this interaction may be different. In addition, this object is a lot larger than previous interstellar objects, with it weighing as much as 33 billion tons.
The object should be passing by Mars anytime now, and soon it will become visible to many telescopes and other instruments for further analysis.
In addition to recording how the object interacted with the coronal mass ejection, astronomers should be able to confirm that it is indeed an asteroid from outside the solar system and not something more exotic.
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Due to the fact that it is traveling so fast (137,000 MPH), and it has an unusual shape, some researchers have suggested that it is possible that it is an alien craft or potentially an asteroid modified by intelligent life and sent in our direction.
NASA downplays that possibility, but it should be able to rule it out entirely with upcoming views.
If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.