Skip to main content

First images of mysterious interstellar comet Borisov show familiar features

Borisov Interstellar Comet
A two-color composite image of C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), the first interstellar comet ever identified. Gemini Observatory/NSF/AURA

Astronomers have gotten their first glimpse at an interstellar comet — and it might be more similar to comets from our solar system than we had originally thought.

Amateur Ukranian astronomer Gennady Borisov first spotted the comet, which originated from outside of our solar system and has been named C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), on August 30. Now that astronomers from the Institute for Astrophysics of the Canaries (IAC) have gotten a closer look at it using a telescope at the Roque de los Mucachos Observatory, they’ve found a lot of characteristics similar to comets from our own neighborhood. It’s likely that they’re made of the same stuff, scientists said.

Recommended Videos

“The spectrum of this object is similar to those of Solar System comets and this indicates that their composition must be similar,” the IAC’s Julia de León said in a statement after managing to snap a few detailed images of C/2019 Q4 on September 13.

Astronomers from the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii also captured the first multicolor image of the comet, and said they expect to be able to take some better images as Borisov gets closer over the next few months.

C/2019 Q4 Borisov
A look at Borisov’s path as it travels through our solar system. JPL

Astronomers looked at the comet’s tail to help determine that it’s got a similar composition to local ones. Comets themselves are made of ice and dust, though it’s not clear where this comet — and the ice and dust it’s made out of — came from.

That said, if the comet is made of similar materials, it suggests that whatever solar system it originated in has a lot in common with our own.

This is only the second interstellar object discovered by astronomers. The first, ‘Oumuamua, was discovered in 2017, but was spotted on its way out of our solar system, and scientists weren’t able to figure out what it was composed of.

They’ve got a lot more data on Borisov, which is inbound and headed towards the sun at a high speed. The comet currently has a hyperbolic path, and should be closest to the sun — about 2 AU, or twice the distance between the Earth and the sun — in December, according to astronomers’ best estimates.

After that, it will bid our solar system farewell and move on to interstellar space, though scientists still expect to have a year to watch it in action before we can’t observe it from Earth anymore.

Mathew Katz
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mathew is a news editor at Digital Trends, specializing in covering all kinds of tech news — from video games to policy. He…
Departing ISS astronaut still finds time for stunning night shot
The Nile River, Nile Delta, and Cairo, as seen from the ISS.

NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick is preparing to fly home aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule at the end of the seven-month Crew-8 mission, but he recently found time to snap an incredible night shot featuring the Nile River, the Nile Delta, Cairo, and beyond.

“Moonlight illuminates Cairo and the Mediterranean on a mostly clear night," Dominick wrote in a message accompanying the photo that was shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

Read more
Watch SpaceX’s Starship splashdown in the Indian Ocean at end of fifth test
SpaceX's Starship reentering Earth's atmosphere.

SpaceX’s Super Heavy rocket was the star of the show during last week’s test flight when it was successfully caught by the launch tower’s giant mechanical arms upon the first attempt.

Minutes earlier, the Super Heavy booster had deployed the upper-stage Starship spacecraft to orbit as part of the fifth test flight of the world’s most powerful rocket.

Read more
A Boeing-built satellite appears to have exploded in orbit
boeing satellite explodes intelsat 33e

Boeing's bad year in space continues. Following the troubled first crewed flight of its Starliner spacecraft, now a satellite designed and built by the company appears to have exploded in orbit. The Intelsat 33e satellite was reported to have experienced an anomaly last week, and now it has been confirmed that the satellite has been totally lost.

The satellite was part of the Epic constellation from satellite services provider Intelsat, and its loss caused an interruption in communication services for customers in Europe, Africa, and parts of the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. Space Force confirmed that the satellite had broken up and that it was tracking 20 pieces of debris, according to SpaceNews.

Read more