Astronomers track object from outside the solar system
The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of kilometres away and moving toward Mars but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists.
It is too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet or how big and what shape it is.
More observations are needed to confirm its origins.
NASA said it is monitoring the situation.
Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system.
He estimates its size at about 40km across.
The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017.
It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honour of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it.
Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet.
The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet.
Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency says.
The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of kilometres away and moving toward Mars but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists.
It is too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet or how big and what shape it is.
More observations are needed to confirm its origins.
NASA said it is monitoring the situation.
Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system.
He estimates its size at about 40km across.
The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017.
It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honour of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it.
Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet.
The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet.
Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency says.
The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of kilometres away and moving toward Mars but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists.
It is too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet or how big and what shape it is.
More observations are needed to confirm its origins.
NASA said it is monitoring the situation.
Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system.
He estimates its size at about 40km across.
The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017.
It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honour of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it.
Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet.
The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet.
Scientists have discovered what might be only the third known interstellar object to pass through our solar system, the European Space Agency says.
The harmless object is currently near Jupiter hundreds of millions of kilometres away and moving toward Mars but it should get no closer to the sun than that, according to scientists.
It is too soon to know whether the object, designated for now as A11pl3Z, is a rocky asteroid or a icy comet or how big and what shape it is.
More observations are needed to confirm its origins.
NASA said it is monitoring the situation.
Astrophysicist Josep Trigo-Rodriguez of the Institute of Space Sciences near Barcelona, Spain, believes it is an interstellar object based on its odd path and extreme speed cutting through the solar system.
He estimates its size at about 40km across.
The first confirmed interstellar visitor was in 2017.
It was dubbed Oumuamua, Hawaiian for scout, in honour of the observatory in Hawaii that discovered it.
Classified at first as an asteroid, the elongated Oumuamua has since showed signs of being a comet.
The second object confirmed to have strayed from another star system into our own is 21/Borisov, discovered in 2019 and believed to be a comet.
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Perth Now
5 hours ago
- Perth Now
Mystery interstellar object could be alien spacecraft
A mysterious object seen speeding through the solar system could be an alien spacecraft. The large interstellar object - which has been named 3I/ATLAS - was spotted racing through the universe at 41 miles per second (150,000 miles per hour) last week. It is far larger and brighter than the previous two interstellar objects to pass through our solar system, 'Oumuamua and Borissov, and extraterrestrial expert Professor Avi Loeb says that is "difficult to understand" how it could be so big unless it is a comet or alien craft. The Harvard University boffin admits that further observation could prove that the object is a naturally forming comet but stressed that possibility of alien involvement can't be ruled out. The astrophysicist told MailOnline: "If it is not a comet, then its large brightness would be a big surprise and potentially signal a non-natural origin, perhaps from artificial light."
The Advertiser
3 days ago
- The Advertiser
Australia's environment is in decline and so is the tool needed to protect it
Australia is changing - we know this from decades of careful, detailed observation. However, the systems that provide this environmental intelligence are now under severe strain. Satellites, weather and water stations, and field surveys are the window to our environment, but these systems are under threat just when we need them most. The latest Australia's Environment special report on 25 years of change makes this clear. Since 2000, our population has grown by 44 per cent, adding immense pressure on land, water and biodiversity. Over the same period, Australia's average land temperature has increased by 0.81 degrees Celsius, with 16 more days above 35 degrees each year. Ocean temperatures have also warmed, by around 0.43 degrees, fuelling more marine heatwaves and mass coral bleaching events of the Great Barrier Reef. The number of listed threatened species has risen by 741, from 1397 to 2138, a 53 per cent increase. 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Gaps in monitoring make it harder to detect emerging threats or assess the impact of policies and interventions. As long-term records are interrupted, their value diminishes, and when international access is uncertain, we may end up flying blind. A future national agency, Environment Protection Australia (EPA), currently in the works, must play a broader role than just regulation. It should become a champion for environmental data, recognising that protecting nature requires knowing what's happening, where, and why. That means investing in the infrastructure of environmental observation, from satellites to sensors to surveys. It means forging durable partnerships with international agencies but also building more sovereign capability. It also means valuing the contributions of community groups and researchers, and providing sustained support for the data they collect. 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Over the same period, Australia's average land temperature has increased by 0.81 degrees Celsius, with 16 more days above 35 degrees each year. Ocean temperatures have also warmed, by around 0.43 degrees, fuelling more marine heatwaves and mass coral bleaching events of the Great Barrier Reef. The number of listed threatened species has risen by 741, from 1397 to 2138, a 53 per cent increase. Counts of birds, mammals, frogs and plants show dramatic declines, by more than 60 per cent in some cases. Their decline reflects habitat destruction, invasive species, climate stress and ecosystem disruption. There are a few hopeful signs. In parts of eastern and northern Australia, vegetation condition has improved, with increased leaf area, woody growth, and plant cover, likely driven by shifting rainfall patterns, reduced clearing and CO2 fertilisation. River flows and wetland inundation have also recovered in some regions. 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The Trump administration's 2026 budget blueprint proposes dramatic cuts to environmental science: NASA's Earthscience funding could be halved, while NOAA's climate and weather programs face deep reductions. These agencies have already begun scaling back services. NOAA has closed labs, cut staff and announced the decommissioning of public data portals, while forecasting and satellite operations are under pressure. Australia has no backup. If these data streams are disrupted or discontinued, no domestic system can replace them. At the same time, our own on-ground monitoring infrastructure is ageing and underfunded. Weather stations and stream gauges are being decommissioned or left unrepaired. Groundwater and soil-moisture networks are patchy, and many regional areas are data deserts. Field-based surveys of plants and animals are even more fragile. Many threatened species receive no dedicated monitoring. Long-term ecological studies are rare and often rely on individual researchers or one-off grants. Volunteer groups and citizen scientists remain a vital source of knowledge, but formal participation is declining and long-term support is thin. This slow erosion of Australia's environmental intelligence may go unnoticed until it's too late. Gaps in monitoring make it harder to detect emerging threats or assess the impact of policies and interventions. As long-term records are interrupted, their value diminishes, and when international access is uncertain, we may end up flying blind. A future national agency, Environment Protection Australia (EPA), currently in the works, must play a broader role than just regulation. It should become a champion for environmental data, recognising that protecting nature requires knowing what's happening, where, and why. That means investing in the infrastructure of environmental observation, from satellites to sensors to surveys. It means forging durable partnerships with international agencies but also building more sovereign capability. It also means valuing the contributions of community groups and researchers, and providing sustained support for the data they collect. The Australia's Environment: 25-Year Trends report shows what's possible when we invest in data: we gain a clearer picture of what's changing, what's improving, what still needs attention. But it also shows how easily that picture can blur or disappear altogether. You can't protect what you can't measure and right now, our ability to measure itself needs to be protected. Australia is changing - we know this from decades of careful, detailed observation. However, the systems that provide this environmental intelligence are now under severe strain. Satellites, weather and water stations, and field surveys are the window to our environment, but these systems are under threat just when we need them most. The latest Australia's Environment special report on 25 years of change makes this clear. Since 2000, our population has grown by 44 per cent, adding immense pressure on land, water and biodiversity. Over the same period, Australia's average land temperature has increased by 0.81 degrees Celsius, with 16 more days above 35 degrees each year. Ocean temperatures have also warmed, by around 0.43 degrees, fuelling more marine heatwaves and mass coral bleaching events of the Great Barrier Reef. The number of listed threatened species has risen by 741, from 1397 to 2138, a 53 per cent increase. Counts of birds, mammals, frogs and plants show dramatic declines, by more than 60 per cent in some cases. Their decline reflects habitat destruction, invasive species, climate stress and ecosystem disruption. There are a few hopeful signs. In parts of eastern and northern Australia, vegetation condition has improved, with increased leaf area, woody growth, and plant cover, likely driven by shifting rainfall patterns, reduced clearing and CO2 fertilisation. River flows and wetland inundation have also recovered in some regions. The hole in the ozone layer has started to close in response to global action. All of these insights come from long-term environmental monitoring. Our report draws on data from the Bureau of Meteorology, the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), national and state agencies, volunteer networks, and global satellite partnerships, including NASA's MODIS satellite program, now in operation for 25 years. The consistency and breadth of these records allow us to detect trends, understand drivers and make informed decisions. Australia does not operate its own Earth observation satellites. It relies entirely on other countries, particularly the United States, for critical data. Agencies like NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) supply the satellite imagery and climate records that underpin almost all aspects of environmental monitoring in Australia, tracking weather, water, fires, vegetation and greenhouse gases. Now that access is becoming uncertain. The Trump administration's 2026 budget blueprint proposes dramatic cuts to environmental science: NASA's Earthscience funding could be halved, while NOAA's climate and weather programs face deep reductions. These agencies have already begun scaling back services. NOAA has closed labs, cut staff and announced the decommissioning of public data portals, while forecasting and satellite operations are under pressure. Australia has no backup. If these data streams are disrupted or discontinued, no domestic system can replace them. At the same time, our own on-ground monitoring infrastructure is ageing and underfunded. Weather stations and stream gauges are being decommissioned or left unrepaired. Groundwater and soil-moisture networks are patchy, and many regional areas are data deserts. Field-based surveys of plants and animals are even more fragile. Many threatened species receive no dedicated monitoring. Long-term ecological studies are rare and often rely on individual researchers or one-off grants. Volunteer groups and citizen scientists remain a vital source of knowledge, but formal participation is declining and long-term support is thin. This slow erosion of Australia's environmental intelligence may go unnoticed until it's too late. Gaps in monitoring make it harder to detect emerging threats or assess the impact of policies and interventions. As long-term records are interrupted, their value diminishes, and when international access is uncertain, we may end up flying blind. A future national agency, Environment Protection Australia (EPA), currently in the works, must play a broader role than just regulation. It should become a champion for environmental data, recognising that protecting nature requires knowing what's happening, where, and why. That means investing in the infrastructure of environmental observation, from satellites to sensors to surveys. It means forging durable partnerships with international agencies but also building more sovereign capability. It also means valuing the contributions of community groups and researchers, and providing sustained support for the data they collect. The Australia's Environment: 25-Year Trends report shows what's possible when we invest in data: we gain a clearer picture of what's changing, what's improving, what still needs attention. But it also shows how easily that picture can blur or disappear altogether. You can't protect what you can't measure and right now, our ability to measure itself needs to be protected. Australia is changing - we know this from decades of careful, detailed observation. However, the systems that provide this environmental intelligence are now under severe strain. Satellites, weather and water stations, and field surveys are the window to our environment, but these systems are under threat just when we need them most. The latest Australia's Environment special report on 25 years of change makes this clear. Since 2000, our population has grown by 44 per cent, adding immense pressure on land, water and biodiversity. Over the same period, Australia's average land temperature has increased by 0.81 degrees Celsius, with 16 more days above 35 degrees each year. Ocean temperatures have also warmed, by around 0.43 degrees, fuelling more marine heatwaves and mass coral bleaching events of the Great Barrier Reef. The number of listed threatened species has risen by 741, from 1397 to 2138, a 53 per cent increase. Counts of birds, mammals, frogs and plants show dramatic declines, by more than 60 per cent in some cases. Their decline reflects habitat destruction, invasive species, climate stress and ecosystem disruption. There are a few hopeful signs. In parts of eastern and northern Australia, vegetation condition has improved, with increased leaf area, woody growth, and plant cover, likely driven by shifting rainfall patterns, reduced clearing and CO2 fertilisation. River flows and wetland inundation have also recovered in some regions. The hole in the ozone layer has started to close in response to global action. All of these insights come from long-term environmental monitoring. Our report draws on data from the Bureau of Meteorology, the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), national and state agencies, volunteer networks, and global satellite partnerships, including NASA's MODIS satellite program, now in operation for 25 years. The consistency and breadth of these records allow us to detect trends, understand drivers and make informed decisions. Australia does not operate its own Earth observation satellites. It relies entirely on other countries, particularly the United States, for critical data. Agencies like NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) supply the satellite imagery and climate records that underpin almost all aspects of environmental monitoring in Australia, tracking weather, water, fires, vegetation and greenhouse gases. Now that access is becoming uncertain. The Trump administration's 2026 budget blueprint proposes dramatic cuts to environmental science: NASA's Earthscience funding could be halved, while NOAA's climate and weather programs face deep reductions. These agencies have already begun scaling back services. NOAA has closed labs, cut staff and announced the decommissioning of public data portals, while forecasting and satellite operations are under pressure. Australia has no backup. If these data streams are disrupted or discontinued, no domestic system can replace them. At the same time, our own on-ground monitoring infrastructure is ageing and underfunded. Weather stations and stream gauges are being decommissioned or left unrepaired. Groundwater and soil-moisture networks are patchy, and many regional areas are data deserts. Field-based surveys of plants and animals are even more fragile. Many threatened species receive no dedicated monitoring. Long-term ecological studies are rare and often rely on individual researchers or one-off grants. Volunteer groups and citizen scientists remain a vital source of knowledge, but formal participation is declining and long-term support is thin. This slow erosion of Australia's environmental intelligence may go unnoticed until it's too late. Gaps in monitoring make it harder to detect emerging threats or assess the impact of policies and interventions. As long-term records are interrupted, their value diminishes, and when international access is uncertain, we may end up flying blind. A future national agency, Environment Protection Australia (EPA), currently in the works, must play a broader role than just regulation. It should become a champion for environmental data, recognising that protecting nature requires knowing what's happening, where, and why. That means investing in the infrastructure of environmental observation, from satellites to sensors to surveys. It means forging durable partnerships with international agencies but also building more sovereign capability. It also means valuing the contributions of community groups and researchers, and providing sustained support for the data they collect. The Australia's Environment: 25-Year Trends report shows what's possible when we invest in data: we gain a clearer picture of what's changing, what's improving, what still needs attention. But it also shows how easily that picture can blur or disappear altogether. You can't protect what you can't measure and right now, our ability to measure itself needs to be protected.
The Advertiser
4 days ago
- The Advertiser
New comet is third interstellar object in solar system
Astronomers are tracking a newly spotted comet hailing from parts unknown, only the third time such an interstellar object has been observed visiting our solar system. According to US space agency NASA, the interloper - named 3I/ATLAS - was first spotted on Tuesday by an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, telescope located in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Astronomers said its unusual trajectory indicated it had ventured from beyond our solar system. Journeying at a speed of around 60km per second from the direction of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, 3I/ATLAS is presently located about 670 million km from Earth. "Beyond that we do not know very much, and there are many efforts underway to observe this object with larger telescopes to determine composition," University of Hawaii astronomer Larry Denneau, co-principal investigator for ATLAS, said on Thursday. The only other such interstellar visitors previously observed by astronomers were objects called 1I/'Oumuamua (pronounced oh-MOO-uh-MOO-uh), detected in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019. "The comet has some similarities to 2I/Borisov in that it appears to be an icy comet, but it is much larger, possibly 10km in diameter," Denneau said. "It currently has a faint coma," Denneau added, referring to the cloud of gas and dust surrounding a comet's nucleus, "but the coma and tail may increase dramatically as the object comes closer to the sun. Its closest approach to the sun will be later this year, when it will come inside the orbit of Mars. We don't know what will happen, so that's exciting." Astronomers said the comet poses no threat to Earth and will never come closer than 240 million km away, equivalent to more than one-and-a-half times the distance between Earth and the sun. It is currently located about 670 million km from the sun and will reach its closest approach to the sun around October 30, when it will be about 210 million km away from our star. The ATLAS network is a NASA-funded telescope survey built and operated by the University of Hawaii, with five telescopes around the world that scan the night sky continuously to look for objects that could threaten Earth. Astronomers are tracking a newly spotted comet hailing from parts unknown, only the third time such an interstellar object has been observed visiting our solar system. According to US space agency NASA, the interloper - named 3I/ATLAS - was first spotted on Tuesday by an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, telescope located in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Astronomers said its unusual trajectory indicated it had ventured from beyond our solar system. Journeying at a speed of around 60km per second from the direction of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, 3I/ATLAS is presently located about 670 million km from Earth. "Beyond that we do not know very much, and there are many efforts underway to observe this object with larger telescopes to determine composition," University of Hawaii astronomer Larry Denneau, co-principal investigator for ATLAS, said on Thursday. The only other such interstellar visitors previously observed by astronomers were objects called 1I/'Oumuamua (pronounced oh-MOO-uh-MOO-uh), detected in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019. "The comet has some similarities to 2I/Borisov in that it appears to be an icy comet, but it is much larger, possibly 10km in diameter," Denneau said. "It currently has a faint coma," Denneau added, referring to the cloud of gas and dust surrounding a comet's nucleus, "but the coma and tail may increase dramatically as the object comes closer to the sun. Its closest approach to the sun will be later this year, when it will come inside the orbit of Mars. We don't know what will happen, so that's exciting." Astronomers said the comet poses no threat to Earth and will never come closer than 240 million km away, equivalent to more than one-and-a-half times the distance between Earth and the sun. It is currently located about 670 million km from the sun and will reach its closest approach to the sun around October 30, when it will be about 210 million km away from our star. The ATLAS network is a NASA-funded telescope survey built and operated by the University of Hawaii, with five telescopes around the world that scan the night sky continuously to look for objects that could threaten Earth. Astronomers are tracking a newly spotted comet hailing from parts unknown, only the third time such an interstellar object has been observed visiting our solar system. According to US space agency NASA, the interloper - named 3I/ATLAS - was first spotted on Tuesday by an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, telescope located in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Astronomers said its unusual trajectory indicated it had ventured from beyond our solar system. Journeying at a speed of around 60km per second from the direction of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, 3I/ATLAS is presently located about 670 million km from Earth. "Beyond that we do not know very much, and there are many efforts underway to observe this object with larger telescopes to determine composition," University of Hawaii astronomer Larry Denneau, co-principal investigator for ATLAS, said on Thursday. The only other such interstellar visitors previously observed by astronomers were objects called 1I/'Oumuamua (pronounced oh-MOO-uh-MOO-uh), detected in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019. "The comet has some similarities to 2I/Borisov in that it appears to be an icy comet, but it is much larger, possibly 10km in diameter," Denneau said. "It currently has a faint coma," Denneau added, referring to the cloud of gas and dust surrounding a comet's nucleus, "but the coma and tail may increase dramatically as the object comes closer to the sun. Its closest approach to the sun will be later this year, when it will come inside the orbit of Mars. We don't know what will happen, so that's exciting." Astronomers said the comet poses no threat to Earth and will never come closer than 240 million km away, equivalent to more than one-and-a-half times the distance between Earth and the sun. It is currently located about 670 million km from the sun and will reach its closest approach to the sun around October 30, when it will be about 210 million km away from our star. The ATLAS network is a NASA-funded telescope survey built and operated by the University of Hawaii, with five telescopes around the world that scan the night sky continuously to look for objects that could threaten Earth. Astronomers are tracking a newly spotted comet hailing from parts unknown, only the third time such an interstellar object has been observed visiting our solar system. According to US space agency NASA, the interloper - named 3I/ATLAS - was first spotted on Tuesday by an Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System, or ATLAS, telescope located in Rio Hurtado, Chile. Astronomers said its unusual trajectory indicated it had ventured from beyond our solar system. Journeying at a speed of around 60km per second from the direction of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy, 3I/ATLAS is presently located about 670 million km from Earth. "Beyond that we do not know very much, and there are many efforts underway to observe this object with larger telescopes to determine composition," University of Hawaii astronomer Larry Denneau, co-principal investigator for ATLAS, said on Thursday. The only other such interstellar visitors previously observed by astronomers were objects called 1I/'Oumuamua (pronounced oh-MOO-uh-MOO-uh), detected in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019. "The comet has some similarities to 2I/Borisov in that it appears to be an icy comet, but it is much larger, possibly 10km in diameter," Denneau said. "It currently has a faint coma," Denneau added, referring to the cloud of gas and dust surrounding a comet's nucleus, "but the coma and tail may increase dramatically as the object comes closer to the sun. Its closest approach to the sun will be later this year, when it will come inside the orbit of Mars. We don't know what will happen, so that's exciting." Astronomers said the comet poses no threat to Earth and will never come closer than 240 million km away, equivalent to more than one-and-a-half times the distance between Earth and the sun. It is currently located about 670 million km from the sun and will reach its closest approach to the sun around October 30, when it will be about 210 million km away from our star. The ATLAS network is a NASA-funded telescope survey built and operated by the University of Hawaii, with five telescopes around the world that scan the night sky continuously to look for objects that could threaten Earth.
