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Interstellar asteroid in orbit around our Sun
by Staff Writers
London, UK (SPX) May 21, 2018

Images of 2015 BZ509 obtained at the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory (LBTO) that established its retrograde co-orbital nature. The bright stars and the asteroid (circled in yellow) appear black and the sky white in this negative image. Credit: C. Veillet / Large Binocular Telescope Observatory

A new study has discovered the first known permanent immigrant to our solar system. The asteroid, currently nestling in Jupiter's orbit, is the first known asteroid to have been captured from another star system. The work is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.

The object known as 'Oumuamua was the last interstellar interloper to hit the First Interstellar Immigrant Discovered in the Solar Systems in 2017. However, it was just a tourist passing through, whereas this former exo-asteroid - given the catchy name (514107) 2015 BZ509 - is a long-term resident.

All of the planets in our solar system, and the vast majority of other objects as well, travel around the Sun in the same direction. However, 2015 BZ509 is different - it moves in the opposite direction in what is known as a 'retrograde' orbit.

"How the asteroid came to move in this way while sharing Jupiter's orbit has until now been a mystery," explains Dr. Fathi Namouni, lead author of the study. "If 2015 BZ509 were a native of our system, it should have had the same original direction as all of the other planets and asteroids, inherited from the cloud of gas and dust that formed them."

However, the team ran simulations to trace the location of 2015 BZ509 right back to the birth of our solar system, 4.5 billion years ago when the era of planet formation ended. These show that 2015 BZ509 has always moved in this way, and so could not have been there originally and must have been captured from another system.

"Asteroid immigration from other star systems occurs because the Sun initially formed in a tightly-packed star cluster, where every star had its own system of planets and asteroids," comments Dr. Helena Morais, the other member of the team.

"The close proximity of the stars, aided by the gravitational forces of the planets, help these systems attract, remove, and capture asteroids from one another."

The discovery of the first permanent asteroid immigrant in the solar system has important implications for the open problems of planet formation, solar system evolution, and possibly the origin of life itself.

Understanding exactly when and how 2015 BZ509 settled in the solar system provides clues about the Sun's original star nursery, and about the potential enrichment of our early environment with components necessary for the appearance of life on Earth.

Research Report: "An Interstellar Origin for Jupiter's Retrograde Co-Orbital Asteroid," F. Namouni and H. Morais, 2018, to be published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters


Related Links
Royal Astronomical Society
Asteroid and Comet Mission News, Science and Technology


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IRON AND ICE
Football field-sized asteroid to shave by Earth
Tampa (AFP) May 15, 2018
An asteroid around the size of a football field is expected to zoom by Earth on Tuesday, but at a safe distance, the US space agency said. The space rock was discovered in 2010, but only recently did astronomers determine it would not collide with our planet, instead passing at a distance about halfway between the Earth and Moon. Asteroid 2010 WC9 will make a "close approach" to Earth at 2204 GMT, NASA said, noting its closest pass will be over the coast of Antarctica. "At the time of closes ... read more

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