... and some of it has found its way to Earth over the years. These tiny bits of preserved solid interstellar material are called presolar grains and scientists know they originated from earlier stars before our...
... Solar System, but gaseous nickel has also been detected surrounding comet 2I/Borisov, the second observed interstellar interloper after ʻOumuamua. Ranging in size from a few hundred meters to loosely packed balls of ice and dust...
..., is where the magnetic fields and stellar winds are draped or diverted around the heliosphere. In this region, interstellar neutral atoms streaming toward the heliopause are ionised, by collisions or radiation, and then accelerated to even higher...
...-sized structures, but are such vast ships really necessary? Multi-generational crews If we want to start designing an interstellar mission, we have to fully accept that our designs will be modified in the future as our understanding of physics (and...
... planets and ‘failed Jupiters’, then Wetherill’s hypothesis was that there should be no reasonable expectation of ever seeing interstellar comets passing through the Solar System. Wetherill noted, ‘…there are several ways in which Jupiter (and...
...C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) – possibly the first confirmed interstellar comet to visit the Solar System – hit the ... viable option. C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) is the second such interstellar object to be identified whizzing through the Solar System; the first...