Could the solar system be teeming with interstellar objects? We'll soon find out (op-ed)

"How do you tell the difference between a spaceship and a space rock? 

For astronomers like me, this question has proved tricky — so tricky that we were very nearly fooled when the first recorded interstellar object, named 'Oumuamua, was spotted passing through the inner solar system in 2017."

Read the full editorial.

More news

Lisa Kaltenegger, founding director of the Carl Sagan Institute
Lisa Kaltenegger, founding director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University. “I think a lot of people might not be so aware of where we are right now, and that they are living in this momentous time in history,” she said. “We can all be a part of it.” Heather Ainsworth for The New York Times

She Dreams of Pink Planets and Alien Dinosaurs

View all news
comet 'Oumuamua
An artist's depiction of the interstellar comet 'Oumuamua, as it warmed up in its approach to the sun and outgassed hydrogen (white mist), which slightly altered its orbit. Image credit: NASA, ESA and Joseph Olmsted and Frank Summers of STScI
Top