New ‘Nearly Interstellar’ Comet That Lacks a Tail Will Approach the Earth Today — Can We Spot It?
A new not-so-interstellar object is heading towards Earth. The comet has notoriously been linked to the 3I/ATLAS, an infamous interstellar comet. Although astronomers found some similarities between the two objects, the study suggests that the new comet is not interstellar. This means that the object heading towards the planet was present within our solar system, unlike the comet 3I/ATLAS. Crimea-based amateur astronomer Gennadiy Borisov first observed the new comet on November 2, as per Live Science. Hence, the comet acquired the name C/2025 V1 (Borisov). According to Orbital Today, the Borisov comet will reach its closest point to Earth on November 11.
At a distance of 64 million miles (103 million kilometers) from Earth, the comet is still quite far but close enough for astronomers to keenly observe. During a recent observation, the object was spotted with a brightness of 13.8, which is too faint to be seen with the naked eye. Moreover, it seems to lack a tail, unusual for a comet. This anomaly has sparked discussions among the scientists as to what the new non-interstellar visitor could be hiding. This isn't the first comet to face dramatic theories for being an anomaly. Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS had also generated intrigue and discussions among the researchers.
On the contrary, other scientists believe that there's nothing mysterious about the upcoming comet. There's an explanation behind the comet's subdued appearance and lack of a tail. They believe that its distance from the sun and composition may have changed the way it appeared. Meaning, the comet is yet to transition into the active state and form a tail while on its way to our planet. However, there is more than one factor that made scientists believe at one point that the latest comet is related to 3I/ATLAS. In 2019, Gennadiy Borisov had also discovered the "Comet Borisov," and it had an origin story similar to that of the 3I/ATLAS. The latter was an alien comet ejected from the Milky Way, and so was the "Comet Borisov."
Both wandered the space for billions of years before one day striking the Earth at high speed. These coincidences made astronomers believe that the recent comet — also discovered by Gennadiy Borisov — is similar to the 3I/ATLAS comet. However, there's a major difference: one is interstellar and the other is not. Harvard University astrophysicist and alien-hunter Avi Loeb called the new comet a "nearly interstellar object" in a recent blog post. He also discussed the possible link between the C/2025 V1 and the 31/ATLAS comets. Both have slightly similar trajectories, and the minimum separation between the two objects for both comets is around 140 million miles.
"C/2025 V1 is not related to 3I/ATLAS if it did not employ non-gravitational propulsion," Loeb wrote. "The measured non-gravitational acceleration of 3I/ATLAS is insufficient to bridge the gap with C/2025 V1," he added. The C/2025 V1 comet originated from the Oort Cloud in the solar system and can't be seen directly due to its faint light. But stargazing binoculars and a telescope can enable the viewing of the comet, which is currently located in the constellation Virgo and is most clearly visible just before sunrise, as per TheSkyLive.com.
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