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Ned Potter is the science correspondent for ABC's "World News with Charles Gibson." He has reported on such topics as space exploration, the human genome and climate change.
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"Interstellar Interloper"
December 03, 2008 1:16 PM
David G. Schleicher of the Lowell Observatory in Arizona has been watching a comet called 96P/Machholz 1, and he thinks he's on to something.
Its chemistry is odd. It has only about one percent as much of the compound cyanogen as the other 150 comets he's analyzed. It's also low in two varieties of carbon, called carbon2 and carbon3, "but 'only,'" he writes, "by factors of 8 and 19, respectively, from 'typical' composition."
How could this be? Perhaps the comet formed in an extremely cold part of the outer solar system. Perhaps it's been baked repeatedly by the Sun; it comes closer than Mercury at the perihelion of every five-year orbit.
But maybe, he suggests (imagine weird 1950s sci-fi music welling up here) it's an "interstellar interloper" -- in other words, a visitor from somewhere else in the galaxy.
“A large fraction of comets in our own Solar System have escaped into interstellar space, so we expect that many comets formed around other stars would also have escaped,” says Schleicher in a statement from the Lowell Observatory. “Some of these will have crossed paths with the sun, and Machholz 1 could be an interstellar interloper.”
Take a look HERE at the abstract of the paper he's just published in The Astronomical Journal. And for a more fanciful version, Stephen Battersby's post in New Scientist is HERE.
Oh, and do stop to enjoy a time-lapse movie of the comet (Windows Media HERE or Quicktime HERE) as shot by the European/U.S. SOHO probe when Machholz made its closest approach to the Sun in 2002. (The comet is the streak in the upper left of the image above; the disc in the lower right blocks the Sun but not the flares escaping from it.) Schleicher's observations came when the comet came close in 2007. More from the SOHO project HERE.
Schleicher himself says he's not thrilled with any of the possible explanations for the comet's chemistry. But he's either found an astronomical oddity...or something quite a bit more exotic.
December 3, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (9)
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sure...
Posted by: Triligy | Dec 3, 2008 4:52:37 PM
It would be interesting, indeed, if it were formed around another star system. One can only imagine what strange chemicals it might bring with it, and what their effects might be.
Posted by: andyr | Dec 4, 2008 8:54:41 AM
Doesn't sound that far fetched to me. Jupiter is the one kicking rocks and debris out of our solar system. If it wasn't for Jupiter, we may not be here. So rocks and objects that travel through interstellar space is probably more common than one would think. It will, though, pose a threat for interstellar travel, once we get there that is.
Posted by: Lawrence | Dec 4, 2008 8:57:25 AM
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Deborah
Posted by: Deborah | Dec 5, 2008 12:14:10 AM
First thing's first Deorah, welcome! Second, don't be shy, just post what you are thinking about the blog, and if you have information reguarding the current topic, other people might enjoy it. Just a fare bit of warning, when Ned posts about Climate Change, or evolution, expect this place to go up like a fireworks factory in a fire. It gets fun during those times.
Posted by: Lawrence | Dec 5, 2008 8:47:06 AM
Note from Ned--
Deborah (and anyone else who happens by), a hearty welcome. Lawrence, thanks for being ambassador. You're quite right--there are some topics that can set off "fireworks," as you suggest. But often, I find people's comments quite a bit more illuminating than the bit of raw data that I post. So all are welcome. Pull up a computer and get comfortable.
Posted by: Ned Potter | Dec 5, 2008 5:37:31 PM
Lawrence
That's what makes it so interesting.
Posted by: Quietman | Dec 6, 2008 12:42:28 AM
You are tottally right Quietman.
Posted by: Lawrence | Dec 8, 2008 8:35:35 AM
i enjoy space it is so interesting
Posted by: tw125 | Jan 31, 2009 9:55:24 PM
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