Latest news with #RubinObservatory
UPI
4 hours ago
- Science
- UPI
Light pollution is encroaches on observatories around the globe
As human activity spreads out over time, many of the remote areas that host observatories are becoming less remote. Light domes from large urban areas slightly brighten the dark sky at mountaintop observatories up to 200 miles away. Photo by mariya_m/ Pixabay Outdoor lighting for buildings, roads and advertising can help people see in the dark of night, but many astronomers are growing increasingly concerned that these lights could be blinding us to the rest of the universe. An estimate from 2023 showed that the rate of human-produced light is increasing in the night sky by as much as 10% per year. I'm an astronomer who has chaired a standing commission on astronomical site protection for the International Astronomical Union-sponsored working groups studying ground-based light pollution. My work with these groups has centered around the idea that lights from human activities are now affecting astronomical observatories on what used to be distant mountaintops. Hot science in the cold, dark night While orbiting telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope or the James Webb Space Telescope give researchers a unique view of the cosmos -- particularly because they can see light blocked by the Earth's atmosphere -- ground-based telescopes also continue to drive cutting-edge discovery. Telescopes on the ground capture light with gigantic and precise focusing mirrors that can be 20 to 35 feet wide. Moving all astronomical observations to space to escape light pollution would not be possible, because space missions have a much greater cost and so many large ground-based telescopes are already in operation or under construction. Around the world, there are 17 ground-based telescopes with primary mirrors as big or bigger than Webb's 20-foot mirror, and three more under construction with mirrors planned to span 80 to 130 feet. The newest telescope starting its scientific mission right now, the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile, has a mirror with a 28-foot diameter and a 3-gigapixel camera. One of its missions is to map the distribution of dark matter in the universe. To do that, it will collect a sample of 2.6 billion galaxies. The typical galaxy in that sample is 100 times fainter than the natural glow in the nighttime air in the Earth's atmosphere, so this Rubin Observatory program depends on near-total natural darkness. Any light scattered at night -- road lighting, building illumination, billboards -- would add glare and noise to the scene, greatly reducing the number of galaxies Rubin can reliably measure in the same time, or greatly increasing the total exposure time required to get the same result. The LED revolution Astronomers care specifically about artificial light in the blue-green range of the electromagnetic spectrum, as that used to be the darkest part of the night sky. A decade ago, the most common outdoor lighting was from sodium vapor discharge lamps. They produced an orange-pink glow, which meant that they put out very little blue and green light. Even observatories relatively close to growing urban areas had skies that were naturally dark in the blue and green part of the spectrum, enabling all kinds of new observations. Then came the solid-state LED lighting revolution. Those lights put out a broad rainbow of color with very high efficiency -- meaning they produce lots of light per watt of electricity. The earliest versions of LEDs put out a large fraction of their energy in the blue and green, but advancing technology now gets the same efficiency with "warmer" lights that have much less blue and green. Nevertheless, the formerly pristine darkness of the night sky now has much more light, particularly in the blue and green, from LEDs in cities and towns, lighting roads, public spaces and advertising. The broad output of color from LEDs affects the whole spectrum, from ultraviolet through deep red. The U.S. Department of Energy commissioned a study in 2019 which predicted that the higher energy efficiency of LEDs would mean that the amount of power used for lights at night would go down, with the amount of light emitted staying roughly the same. But satellites looking down at the Earth reveal that just isn't the case. The amount of light is going steadily up, meaning that cities and businesses were willing to keep their electricity bills about the same as energy efficiency improved, and just get more light. Natural darkness in retreat As human activity spreads out over time, many of the remote areas that host observatories are becoming less remote. Light domes from large urban areas slightly brighten the dark sky at mountaintop observatories up to 200 miles away. When these urban areas are adjacent to an observatory, the addition to the skyglow is much stronger, making detection of the faintest galaxies and stars that much harder. When the Mount Wilson Observatory was constructed in the Angeles National Forest near Pasadena, Calif., in the early 1900s, it was a very dark site, considerably far from the 500,000 people living in Greater Los Angeles. Today, 18.6 million people live in the LA area, and urban sprawl has brought civilization much closer to Mount. Wilson. When Kitt Peak National Observatory was first under construction in the late 1950s, it was far from metro Tucson, Az., with its population of 230,000. Today, that area houses 1 million people, and Kitt Peak faces much more light pollution. Even telescopes in darker, more secluded regions -- like northern Chile or western Texas -- experience light pollution from industrial activities like open-pit mining or oil and gas facilities. The case of the European Southern Observatory An interesting modern challenge is facing the European Southern Observatory, which operates four of the world's largest optical telescopes. Their site in northern Chile is very remote, and it is nominally covered by strict national regulations protecting the dark sky. AES Chile, an energy provider with strong U.S. investor backing, announced a plan in December 2024 for the development of a large industrial plant and transport hub close to the observatory. The plant would produce liquid hydrogen and ammonia for green energy. Even though formally compliant with the national lighting norm, the fully built operation could scatter enough artificial light into the night sky to turn the current observatory's pristine darkness into a state similar to some of the legacy observatories now near large urban areas. This light pollution could mean the facility won't have the same ability to detect and measure the faintest galaxies and stars. Light pollution doesn't only affect observatories. Today, around 80% of the world's population cannot see the Milky Way at night. Some Asian cities are so bright that the eyes of people walking outdoors cannot become visually dark-adapted. In 2009, the International Astronomical Union declared that there is a universal right to starlight. The dark night sky belongs to all people -- its awe-inspiring beauty is something that you don't have to be an astronomer to appreciate. Richard Green is astronomer emeritus at Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The views and opinions in this commentary ae solely those of the author.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Science
- Gizmodo
A Rare Interstellar Object Is Zipping Through Our Solar System. This Brand-New Telescope Saw It First
Nearly a month ago, a mysterious object was seen hurtling through the solar system and later confirmed as an interstellar visitor traveling toward the Sun. Several telescopes have since turned their attention to the wandering object, but it turns out the brand-new Vera C. Rubin Observatory was the first to catch a glimpse of 3I/ATLAS. In an act of cosmic serendipity, astronomers pointed the Rubin Observatory toward the patch of sky where the interstellar object appeared during its commissioning phase. Images captured by the observatory, perched atop a mountain in the Chilean Andes, later revealed the comet in its full glory. Rubin's observations of 3I/ATLAS were recorded on June 21, around 10 days before its official discovery, according to a recent paper available on the preprint website arXiv. The Rubin Observatory, overseen by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE), boasts the largest digital camera ever built for astronomy. Its car-sized, 3.2-gigapixel camera is designed to capture ultra-high-definition images and videos of the cosmos. The observatory unveiled its first images to the public on June 23, observing millions of galaxies and stars in the Milky Way over a period of just 10 hours. The images were not only beautiful—they also revealed supernovas and distant galaxies that could help astronomers study the universe's expansion. With its revolutionary precision, it's no wonder then that the Rubin Observatory captured the recently discovered comet before any other telescope. 3I/ATLAS was first spotted in data collected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) between June 25 and 29, and again on July 1. By July 2, the Deep Random Survey remote telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, had seen it too. The International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center confirmed that this comet came from outside our solar system on July 2, marking the third discovery of an interstellar object. Since then, astronomers have been rushing to gather as much data as they can on the mysterious object. The Gemini North telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii, recently snapped a close-up view of 3I/ATLAS, capturing the comet's coma in extreme detail. Initial observations of 3I/ATLAS suggest it's the oldest comet ever found, around 2 billion years older than our solar system. Compared to the two previously discovered interstellar objects, 'Oumuamua and Comet 2I/Borisov, 3I/ATLAS is not only older, but it's also faster. A recent study, which has yet to undergo peer review, found that 3I/ATLAS has a hyperbolic velocity of about 37 miles per second (60 kilometers per second). Rubin's early observations of 3I/ATLAS are important considering they are the earliest images captured of the comet by a high-precision telescope. The new paper includes 49 images in total, although some were excluded because they were captured during Rubin's alignment sequence and were out of focus. Nineteen of the images were captured during intentional operations and confirm that 3I/ATLAS does in fact behave like a comet, with a cloud of gas and dust surrounding its icy nucleus, according to the paper. Just as it was the first to spot the comet, Rubin will also be the first to lose sight of it. On August 22, 3I/ATLAS will shift out of the area in the sky currently being watched by the observatory. Until then, the astronomers behind the paper will keep an eye out for the interstellar visitor in Rubin's images.
Fox News
14-07-2025
- Science
- Fox News
World's most powerful digital camera captures historic first images
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has just released its first images, captured by the world's most powerful digital camera. Located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, this camera is set to transform how we see the universe. After years of planning and building, the observatory is ready to deliver stunning, ultra-detailed views of the night sky. Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips, urgent security alerts, and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you'll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide - free when you join my What makes this camera so special? It has a massive 3.2-gigapixel sensor made up of 201 individual imaging sensors. Each sensor captures 16-megapixel images, all combined to create incredibly detailed photos. The camera takes quick 15-second exposures every 20 seconds, capturing light from ultraviolet to near-infrared wavelengths. This means it can see far beyond what previous telescopes could. The journey started more than 20 years ago, led by the U.S. Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. After sharing early designs in 2015 and assembling the camera by 2020, the final build was completed in early 2025. The camera, roughly the size of a small car and weighing 6,600 pounds, was installed on the Simonyi Survey Telescope in March 2025. This marked a major milestone for the international team involved. The first images show breathtaking views of the Trifid Nebula and Lagoon Nebula, captured over a seven-hour period. These pictures reveal faint details that were previously invisible. In just 10 hours of testing, the observatory captured millions of galaxies, stars, and thousands of asteroids. This is just a preview of what's to come during the upcoming 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The Rubin Observatory isn't just about pretty pictures. It will collect more data in its first year than all previous optical telescopes combined. Scientists will use this data to study dark matter and dark energy, which make up most of the universe but remain mysterious. The observatory will also discover millions of new asteroids and comets, improving our understanding of the solar system and helping with planetary defense. This camera and observatory are transforming the field of astronomy. Because it can scan the entire Southern Hemisphere sky every few nights, scientists will soon have an incredibly detailed, time-lapse record of the universe. The wealth of data collected will drive discoveries for years to come, spark new research, and help us understand the cosmos in ways that were never possible before. The release of these first images is just the beginning. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's powerful camera will change how we explore space, uncovering secrets of the universe and potentially protecting Earth from asteroid impacts. Stay tuned as this exciting project continues to open new windows on the cosmos. If you had access to this groundbreaking camera, what moment in history would you capture, and why do you think it would change how we see the world? Let us know by writing to us at Sign up for my FREE CyberGuy ReportGet my best tech tips, urgent security alerts, and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you'll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide - free when you join my Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
Forbes
13-07-2025
- Science
- Forbes
World's Biggest Camera May Find 50 Interstellar Objects, Scientists Say
Countless star trails appear as colorful brushstrokes spread across the night sky above NSF–DOE Vera ... More C. Rubin Observatory, jointly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. This mesmerizing image was created using long-exposure photography, a technique in which a photographer allows light to enter their camera lens for a period of several minutes to several hours. The camera captures the subject's movements, and the resulting image shows the flow of time in a single shot. During its decade-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Rubin will use a technique known as difference imaging: equipped with the largest camera ever built, Rubin will image the southern sky every few nights. Scientists will stack these images into ultra-long exposures and create a template image of the southern sky. When this template is compared to individual images, scientists will be able to identify 'movements' in the night sky, such as new supernovae or the 'pulsations' of variable stars. After 10 years and thousands of exposures, Rubin will produce an unprecedented ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition, time-lapse record of our Universe — the ultimate movie of the night sky. This image was captured by Hernán Stockebrand, a NOIRLab Audiovisual Ambassador. The new Vera C. Rubin Observatory detected interstellar object 3I/ATLAS and may detect up to 50 more during its 10-year mission, according to a new model. The observatory in Chile, which unveiled its first images last month, is equipped with a unique view of the night sky, supported by the world's largest camera. What Is The Vera C. Rubin Observatory? A new survey telescope in Chile, the Rubin Observatory, looks set to become astronomy's most ambitious and productive eye on the sky ever made. It will begin a 10-year mission later this year, during which it's expected to discover 10 million supernovas, 20 billion galaxies, and millions of asteroids and comets. About the size of a car, Rubin's $168 million LSSTCam imager — the most sensitive optical device ever made — weighs over three tons and captures 3,200-megapixel images. Every image is big enough to fill 378 4K screens. It took 10 years to manufacture, features six optical filters, and, crucially, has a 9.6 square-degree field of view — it can see a large portion of the sky at once. What Is 3I/ATLAS? Discovered on July 1, 2025, by the ATLAS telescope network at El Sauce Observatory in Chile and thought to be around 12 miles (20 kilometers) in diameter, 3I/ATLAS's eccentric trajectory suggests that it's from outside the solar system. The third interstellar object ever to be found after 'Oumuamua in 2017 and a comet called 2I/Borisov in 2019, 3I/ATLAS could be three billion years older than the solar system — the oldest comet ever seen. It could even be up to 14 billion years old, according to Matthew Hopkins, an astronomer at the University of Oxford, who spoke on July 11 at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham, U.K., about a new model, the Ōtautahi–Oxford Model, that simulates the properties of interstellar objects based on their orbits and likely stellar origins. Why Rubin Will Find Interstellar Objects The next interstellar object to enter the solar system is likely to be discovered by the Rubin telescope. Objets such as 3I/ATLAS are incredibly faint when they are far from the sun, but Rubin's wide field and large aperture make it ideal for finding interstellar objects. 'Rubin's speed means it also scans 18,000 square degrees every few nights,' said Bob Blum, Director of Rubin Observatory Operations, in an email. 'The combination of depth, field of view, and speed is ideal for finding rare objects.' With all of this in its favor, Rubin is expected to find any interstellar objects sooner than other facilities because it will detect them when they're farther away. 'We expect Rubin will be able to find at least multiple 10's of these rare interlopers over the course of its 10-year survey,' said Bloom. It's already begun its work, with Rubin's team locating 3I/ATLAS in test images taken since early June and now studying the object in the night sky. A Surprising Discovery For astronomers working on how to best detect interstellar objects, the sudden arrival of 3I/ATLAS took them by surprise — just as they were preparing to begin using the Rubin Observatory. 'The solar system science community was already excited about the potential discoveries Rubin will make in the next 10 years, including an unprecedented number of interstellar objects,' said co-researcher Dr Rosemary Dorsey of the University of Helsinki. 'The discovery of 3I suggests that prospects for Rubin may now be more optimistic; we may find about 50 objects, of which some would be similar in size to 3I." Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Science
- Forbes
3I/Atlas Isn't The First Interstellar Object To Visit Our Solar System
An interstellar object – a comet from a distant star system – is passing through the space between Jupiter and Mars, and according to a recent study, Comet 3I/Atlas may be 3 billion years older than our Solar System. CERRO PACHON, CHILE - JUNE 08: (——EDITORIAL USE ONLY - MANDATORY CREDIT - 'OBSERVATORIO VERA C. ... More RUBIN / HANDOUT' - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS——) The night sky dazzles above Rubin Observatory in this image in Cerro Pachon, Chile on June 08, 2025. Beginning in late 2025, Rubin Observatory's decade-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will generate an ultra-wide, ultra-high-definition time-lapse record of the Universe at Observatorio Vera C. Rubin, in Cerro Pachon, Chile. (Photo by OBSERVATORIO VERA C. RUBIN/ HANDOUT/Anadolu via Getty Images) Comet 3I/Atlas appears to hail from somewhere toward the center of the Milky Way (which makes sense, because most of the galaxy is 'toward the middle' from Earth). And according to astronomer Matthew Hopkins and his colleagues, the comet entered our Solar System at a steep angle, which suggests that it came from a region of the galaxy called the 'thick disk.' Most of the stars, gas, and dust that make up our galaxy orbit around the center in the same plane, a spiral-armed disk about 400 light years deep. But about 10% of the Milky Way's stars (by mass) orbit in the 1000 light years 'above' and 'below' the thin disk, like the stellar bread on a galactic sandwich. The thick disk is home to older stars with simpler chemical makeup than our young Sun, and there's very little interstellar gas or dust drifting between them. In other words, interstellar comet 3I/Atlas didn't just come from an alien star system – it came from a cosmic neighborhood very different, and much older than, our own. "We think there's a two-thirds chance this comet is older than the Solar System, and that it's been drifting through interstellar space ever since," said astronomer Chris Lintott, a coauthor of the study, in a recent press release. But though Comet 3I/Atlas may be the oldest interstellar object we've ever seen, it's not the first – it may even be one of thousands. Interstellar Object 'Oumuamua: A Messenger From Afar, Arriving First This artist's illustration shows what 'Oumuamua might look like if we had been able to get a closer ... More look. Interstellar object 1I/'Oumuamua was 21 million miles from Earth and already on its way out of the system when astronomers first spotted it in October 2017. That meant we got just a fleeting glimpse of the long, thin, red-hued chunk of rock as it tumbled into the cosmic distance – just enough to stir up wild speculation about alien space probes, in fact. After 'Oumuamua swung past the Sun, it accelerated slightly. Astronomers watching the asteroid's progress calculated that the pull of the Sun's gravity couldn't have accounted for that burst of speed. 'Oumuamua moved more like a comet than an asteroid; as comets get closer to the Sun, their icy nucleus starts to evaporate, releasing plumes of gas into space – which in turn give the comet a push that can speed it up or change its course. But 'Oumuamua moved like a comet, it didn't look like one. All that erupting gas and dust usually forms a cloud, or coma, around the comet's nucleus, along with a tail pointing away from the Sun. Harvard University astrophysicist Avi Loeb proposed that 'Oumuamua was actually a thin solar sail (a sail designed to catch solar radiation instead of wind), which had caught the solar wind and used it to accelerate. Other astronomers pointed out that the idea made no sense, because 'Oumuamua was tumbling as it passed through the Solar System, and a tumbling solar sail wouldn't have been very effective at all. It turned out that, according to a 2023 study, 'Oumuamua was really a comet all along – just a weird one. As it flew through interstellar space, cosmic rays had broken apart about a third of the water molecules trapped inside 'Oumuamua, creating a lot of loose hydrogen molecules. When 'Oumuamua approached the Sun and started venting gas, the hydrogen was too light to drag any dust along with it as it erupted, so the comet's coma and tail were invisible but could explain the bizarre acceleration. Interstellar Object Borisov: A Rogue Comet From A Dim Red Star The Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of Borisov when it was about 260 million miles away. Another piece of a distant star system, a rogue comet probably born around a red dwarf star, swept through our Solar System in late 2019, streaming a tail of gas and dust 100,000 miles long. (The comet itself, 2I/Borisov, was only about a mile wide when astronomers first spotted it.) 'We reasoned that Borisov is likely a representative of the star system it comes from,' Auburn University astronomer Dennis Bodewits said in a 2020 press release from NASA. In other words, 2I/Borisov's chemical makeup could offer some clues about the alien star it once orbited. The comet contained a surprising amount of carbon monoxide ice (some comets in our Solar System contain carbon monoxide ice, too, but not nearly as much of it), according to data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Because carbon monoxide needs much colder temperatures to freeze than water does, 2I/Borisov must have formed somewhere very cold: less than −337.04° Fahrenheit. That could point to the system of planets orbiting a type of small, dim star called a red dwarf. "Red dwarfs are much smaller and dimmer than the Sun, so the planet-forming material around them would be colder than the building blocks of our solar system," explained NASA in its press release at the time. And the odds are in favor of the red dwarf idea, because these dim, cool-burning stars make up about 75% of the stars in our galaxy. On the other hand, the carbon monoxide ice could also point to someplace like the outskirts of a system like ours; at 3.7 billion miles away from the Sun, dwarf planet Pluto's surface temperature ranges from -375° to -400° Fahrenheit, and there is carbon monoxide ice on its surface. So it's possible that 2I/Borisov is actually a chunk of a dwarf exoplanet – another star's version of Pluto – which got knocked into space by a meteor impact. Or maybe 2I/Borisov was always just a mile-wide clump of ice and dust that coalesced in the chilly outer reaches of its star system. Either way, something must have boosted the comet to escape velocity, letting it slip the bonds of its star's gravity and travel through interstellar space. In our own Solar System, migrating gas giants probably boosted some of the comets of the Oort Cloud into their long, lopsided orbits, and they may also have kicked an entire planet out into interstellar space. The same process could have flung 2I/Borisov out of its own star system. Interstellar Object Atlas: The Oldest Comet Ever Seen This diagram shows Atlas's likely route through our Solar System. And now, for the third time in less than a decade, another comet from another distant star system is passing through. Like 2I/Borisov, 3I/Atlas is probably a comet. Telescopes here on Earth can't see 3I/Atlas in much detail yet, but what they can see suggests that it's surrounded by a haze of gas, some of which is streaming outward to form a short tail, which will get larger as the comet gets closer to the Sun. That means 3I/Atlas is probably made of more ice than rock. And if Hopkins and his colleagues are right about its origins, a lot of that ice should be water, rather than other ices like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, or methane. 'The gases that may be seen in the future as 3I is heated by the Sun will test our model,' said co-author University of Canterbury in New Zealand astronomer Michele Bannister, a co-author of the recent study, in a press release. Comet 3I/Atlas looks larger than either 1I/'Oumuamua or 2I/Borisov; Atlas is somewhere between 6.2 and 12.4 miles wide, while Borisov was about a mile wide. Cigar-shaped 'Oumuamua, the smallest of the three, was less than 3,000 feet long and less than 500 feet wide. And Atlas is also 'moving considerably faster than the other two extrasolar objects that we previously discovered,' according to University of Lancashire astronomer Mark Norris in comments to Agence France Presse. 'Oumuamua was zooming along at around 86,000 miles per hour when it passed the Sun, and Borizov whizzed past at 98,000 miles per hour. Meanwhile, astronomers have already clocked Atlas at around 137,000 miles per hour, and it will be moving even faster by the time it passes by the Sun in October 2025. Interstellar Objects Pass Through More Often Than We Thought Authorities and scientists attend a simultaneous conference with the United States, after the first ... More images of deep space captured by the Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile were revealed, in Santiago on June 23, 2025. The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile published their first images on June 23, 2025, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant telescope, funded by the US National Science Foundation and the US Department of Energy is perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. (Photo by Rodrigo ARANGUA / AFP) (Photo by RODRIGO ARANGUA/AFP via Getty Images) So why are astronomers suddenly so many interstellar objects wandering through our Solar System? It's not because we're the hot new travel destination for wandering space rocks, but because new telescopes – like Vera Rubin – make it possible to see smaller, dimmer, and more distant objects. The presence of interstellar objects in our Solar System isn't anything new, but our ability to spot them definitely is. 'Astronomers estimate that an interstellar object similar to 'Oumuamua passes through the inner solar system about once per year, but they are faint and hard to spot and have been missed until now. It is only recently that survey telescopes, such as Pan-STARRS1 [which spotted 'Oumuamua], are powerful enough to have a chance to discover them,' explains NASA on its webpage for 'Oumuamua. And now that the Vera Rubin Observatory is up and running, astronomers like Norris are optimistic about spotting more interstellar objects passing through the Solar System on their way to (and from) parts unknown: maybe as many as several a year. Meanwhile, a 2022 study suggested that we may actually have a few million samples of other star systems orbiting our own Sun. If University of Edinburg astronomer and statistician Jorge Peñarrubia is right, our Sun may have trapped a few million passing interstellar objects in the outer reaches of our Solar system. Some of them are stuck permanently, while others may make a couple of laps around the Sun and slingshot off into interstellar space again. It's a fascinating reminder that our Solar System is part of a wider galaxy – and not as isolated from it as we tend to think. As John Noonan of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona, Tucson, said in the same 2020 NASA press release,'With an interstellar comet passing through our own solar system, it's like we get a sample of a planet orbiting another star showing up in our own backyard.'
