Rob has made a good point about this object not being a comet, and for that matter, the presumption that this thing is natural and unguided. Personally, I am very disappointed that this object wasn't a comet and that it didn't leave a trail of dust and gases, that one day we could have captured in a Stardust-like "sample return". But unfortunately, the darn thing got away quick and clean. And equally unfortunate, that this has opened the flood-gate for all sorts of "alien-craft" theories from a variety of fringe cults. I find it astronomically coincidental that this "fly-by" occurred so close to the 20th anniversary of the Heaven's Gate mass suicide, a concurrence which was not missed by our local news outlets, since this event happened here in Rancho Bernardo.
NASA has admitted to having problems identifying what the object was and where it originated, which only sparks the imagination as to possible scenarios. What if this is just the first of many objects coming our way, as if we are entering an intersteller asteroid shower? What if this object was actually an asteroid populated with alien colonists in suspended animation on their way to colonize Pegasus 5, using our Sun as a gravity assist? How do we know that intersteller travel doesn't require a number of "jumps" interspersed with gravity assists and redirections? Or worse, like a page out of a science fiction novel, what if this the first of many asteroid/crafts on their way to other points in our galaxy? What if our inner solar system is in the middle of some proposed intersteller freeway? Maybe our home planet is part of a low-rent district, which will eventually be under an overpass, which is part of an exit ramp for I5 (Intersteller Freeway ramp for Pegasus 5)! Only time will tell, Bob V. “There’s no point in acting surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for 50 of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now. … What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? Oh, for heaven’s sake, mankind, it’s only four light years away, you know. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Energize the demolition beams.” ― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy On Sunday, October 29, 2017 12:29:20 PM, Matson, Rob D. via Meteorite-list <meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com> wrote: Hi Mike, It is indeed an intriguing interloper, with much speculation on MPML as to its possible origin and the dynamics of its ejection from its original star system. Its spectral characteristics (admittedly limited spectral resolution so far) seem more consistent with an asteroid than a comet, though there is no real dividing line between an asteroid and an inactive comet -- more a continuum between the two. Suffice to say the object is "red" with no strong spectral peaks or troughs in the visible band. One small correction to your post below -- the object certainly originated in our galaxy, or one of the dwarf galaxies that is gravitationally bound to it (e.g. the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy). There has been insufficient time for the body to travel intergalactic distances, even from as close as Andromeda. Unfortunately, we will never know the identity of the star system from which it originated. --Rob ________________________________________ From: Meteorite-list [meteorite-list-boun...@meteoritecentral.com] on behalf of Galactic Stone & Ironworks via Meteorite-list [meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com] Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2017 5:30 AM To: Meteorite List Subject: EXTERNAL: [meteorite-list] First recorded visit to this solar system by a comet-like interstellar object First recorded visit in this solar system by a visiting interstellar object of unknown origin and composition. This comet-like object is moving at a very high rate of speed (44 km/sec) and is entering our cosmic neighborhood from an unusual angle that is nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic. This object does not come from our Asteroid Belt, Kuiper Belt, or Oort Cloud. It is an interloper from the vast empty space between the galaxies and stars. This comet-like object has streaked through our solar system like a rifle shot and is now continuing on it's journey through deep space in the direction of the Pegasus constellation. Unlike most comets or asteroids, we Earthlings will never see this strange visitor again, as it's speed and trajectory will carry it out and away from our solar system into the distant reaches of interstellar space. Link - http://earthsky.org/space/a2017u1-comet-asteroid-interstellar-beyond-solar-system -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Galactic Stone & Ironworks : www.galactic-stone.com ______________________________________________ Visit our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/meteoritecentral and the Archives at http://www.meteorite-list-archives.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com https://pairlist3.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
