‘Alien’ Asteroids Hiding in Plain Sight in Our Solar System For Billions of Years Found by Astronomers!

Astronomers have now identified an alien asteroid in our solar system. Scientists found out it to be a group of interstellar asteroids which had been hiding in plain sight for billions of years. According to a new study published this week in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, astronomers found that these visitors came into our solar system quite some time ago and did not leave. They had earlier spotted a comet called 2I/Borisov in 2019 which is still passing through an asteroid called 'Oumuamua that zipped through quickly in 2017. Asteroid 2020 GA3, Bigger Than The Leaning Tower of Pisa Rapidly Approaching Earth Today, Is it Dangerous? Know More.

The newly-found asteroids were likely to be present when our solar system was being formed 4.5 billion years ago reported CNN. They originated in a different star system and when our solar system was forming, it was likely closer to other star systems as well. Fathi Namouni, a researcher at the Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur and lead study author said in a statement, "The close proximity of the stars meant that they felt each others' gravity much more strongly in those early days than they do today. This enabled asteroids to be pulled from a one-star system to another." Asteroid 1998 OR2 to Flyby Earth on April 29, New Pics of Huge Space Rock Appear Like It's Wearing a Mask!

Namouni and fellow researcher Maria Helena Moreira Morais at the Universidade Estadual Paulista in Brazil used numerical modelling to imitate the appearance of our solar system and identify the location of the asteroids billions of years ago. The simulation suggested that the asteroids were actually captured from another star system as the planets were forming in our solar system. There are 19 asteroids hiding in plain sight which have been orbiting the sun along with asteroids called Centaurs that can be found in between Jupiter and Neptune. Asteroid 2020 GH2 is Not The Only Big Space Rock Passing by Earth, Know About Asteroid 1998 OR2, The Size of Mt Everest Which Will Skim Past This Month.

Centaurs are unusual because they resemble and act both like asteroids and comets. It's their dual nature that gained them the name centaurs, after half-horse, half-human creatures from mythology.  According to NASA two-thirds of Centaurs came from the outskirts of the solar system. Morais in a statement says, "The discovery of a whole population of asteroids of interstellar origin is an important step in understanding the physical and chemical similarities and differences between solar system-born and interstellar asteroids. This population will give us clues about the sun's early birth cluster, how interstellar asteroid capture occurred and the role that interstellar matter had in chemically enriching the solar system and shaping its evolution."

Morais also identified an interstellar "immigrant" living in our solar system in 2018. For billions of years, it lived in our solar system even without our knowledge. But the recently found object couldn't remain hidden around Jupiter forever. It was found as it appeared unique to researchers. The researchers named this exo-asteroid 2015 BZ509 as it originated outside our solar system.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2020 02:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).