A second fireball in the sky over Papua New Guinea in 2014 was a fast -moving object from another star system, according to a new message released by the U.S. Space Command (USSC).
In fact, a small meteor only 1.5 feet (0.45 meters) across the horizon was released into Earth’s atmosphere in January. 8, 2014, after traveling in the sky at about 130,000 mph (210,000 km / h) – a speed much faster than the average meteors that orbit in the solar system, according to a 2019 study. (opens on new page) which is printed in the preprint file arXiv (opens on new page).
That 2019 study argued that the speed of the meteor, as well as the trajectory of its orbit, was shown to be 99% clearer than that of our solar system – perhaps “from the depth of the Earth or star to the thickness. disk of the Milky Way galaxy, “the authors wrote. But despite their fact, the company’s paper has not been reviewed and published in a scientific journal, even though some of the data needed to confirm their numbers is expected by the U.S. government, e.g. as the Vice. (opens on new page)
Select: What is happening in the intergalactic space? (opens on new page)
Now, USSC scientists have confirmed the company’s findings. In a memo written on March 1 a shared on Twitter on April 6th (opens on new page), Lt. Gen. said. John E. Shaw, vice president of the USSC, wrote that the 2019 evaluation of the fireball was “a perfect fit to confirm an interstellar trajectory.”
This confirmation further marks the 2014 meteor as the first interstellar object seen in our solar system, the memo added. The discovery of what preceded the discovery of Oumuamua – a now -popular, fast -moving cigar -type that was established in our solar system – took three years, according to with the USSC memo. (Unlike meteor 2014, Oumuamua is seen farther away from Earth and is moving rapidly outside the solar system, according to NASA. (opens on new page).)
6 / “I was thrilled to sign a memo with @ ussfspoc’s Chief Scientist, Dr. Mozer, confirming what was previously known to be interstellar, a test that has helped the wider astronomical community. Pic. twitter.com/PGlIONCSrWApril 7, 2022
Amir Siraj, a theoretical astrophysicist at Harvard University and lead author of the 2019 paper, said he always wanted to publish basic research, so that the scientific community could pick out where it left off. and he and his companions. Because the meteorite was blazing over the South Pacific, parts of what had landed in the water could have been laid on fish, he said.
While locating these pieces of interstellar debris is a nearly impossible task, Siraj said he is in talks with experts about being able to embark on a journey to return them.
“Being able to get the first piece of interstellar space is a great pleasure to take a closer look at this and talk to global scientists about ocean voyages to return meteorites,” Siraj told Vice.
Read more about meteor 2014 at Vice.com (opens on new page).
Originally published on Live Science.
