It was first seen just a month ago. A tiny blip of light was seen to be moving through the sky by the PanSTARRS1 telescope in Hawaii. The number-crunching which followed was automatic. The results were unusual. This object is in an odd position. It’s moving very fast. And it’s in what appears to be a somewhat extreme orbit. Extreme enough not to actually be an orbit, in fact.
Observations published by the by the International Astronomical Union’s Minor Planet Center (MPC) suggest it could have come from deep space. Specifically, it could be a comet that has escaped another star. “If further observations confirm the unusual nature of this orbit, this object may be the first clear case of an interstellar comet,” the MPC declares. READ MORE
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