- Title: Meet Crimea astronomer who discovered new interstellar comet
- Date: 18th September 2019
- Summary: SIMFEROPOL AREA, CRIMEA (SEPTEMBER 18, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SPACE EXPLORATION CENTER ASTRONOMER GENNADY BORISOV WALKING IN CENTER GROUNDS ASTRONOMER GENNADY BORISOV SAYS (Russian): 'THE TELESCOPE ALWAYS LOOKS INTO THE SKY. (JOURNALIST ASKING OFF CAMERA: AND A HUMAN?) AND A HUMAN SITS IN FRONT OF THE COMPUTER AND CONTROLS THIS TELESCOPE' VARIOUS OF BORISOV SHOWING HIS TELESCOPE OBSERVATORY TOWER OPENING OBSERVATORY TOWER SEEN FROM INSIDE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ASTRONOMER GENNADY BORISOV, SAYING: "This is a place from which I control all three of my instruments - I have two small telescopes which already helped me to discover seven comets. And I have a big telescope which has a diameter of 65 centimeters. It is relatively big - it is a big telescope for me, but it is a small one in terms of international telescope listing. But it still has great characteristics - it has fast-operating optics and it has big angular coverage." (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ASTRONOMER GENNADY BORISOV, SAYING: "(OVER BORISOV SHOWING COMET ON SCREEN) here we have a several shots I have put together in an animation. We can see that the stars are still. We can see that this is a diffuse object, for example a galaxy is a diffuse object. It is therefore not a star-type object, it does not have the brightness of a star which looks more like a dot. And here we have a blurred object."
- Embargoed: 2nd October 2019 19:04
- Keywords: space exploration NASA interstellar object interstellar comet space Crimea scientst
- Location: SIMFEROPOL AREA, CRIMEA / HAWAII BIG ISLAND, U.S.A. / GRAPHICS
- City: SIMFEROPOL AREA, CRIMEA / HAWAII BIG ISLAND, U.S.A. / GRAPHICS
- Country: Ukraine
- Topics: Science,Space Exploration
- Reuters ID: LVA001AX6Q72F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A Russian scientist living in the annexed Crimea has registered a new comet which is likely to be a unique 'interstellar visitor', a likely prospect that would make it the second such interstellar object observed in our planetary neighborhood.
The trajectory of a newly discovered object hurtling toward the orbit of Mars, first detected by Crimean astronomer Gennady Borisov, follows a highly curved path barreling in the sun's direction at unusually high speeds, evidence that it originated beyond the solar system.
The comet, an apparent amalgam of ice and dust, is expected to make its closest approach to the sun on Dec. 8, putting it 190 million miles (300 million km) from Earth, on a route believed unique to such objects of interstellar origin.
Borisov who has previously registered seven other comets said he made the discovery with a telescope he assembled and tuned himself.
"It is a big telescope for me, but it is a small one in terms of international telescope listing. But it still has great characteristics," - he said.
Once confirmed interstellar, the comet - dubbed C/2019 Q4 by astronomers - would become only the second such body ever observed by scientists.
The first was a cigar-shaped comet dubbed 'Oumuamua - a name of Hawaiian origin meaning a messenger from afar arriving first - that sailed into our planetary neighborhood in 2017, prompting initial speculation that it may have been an alien spacecraft. Astronomers soon reached a consensus that it was not.
Unlike 'Oumuamua, which visited the solar system for only a week, the newfound comet will linger near Mars' orbit for almost a year, giving scientists ample time to characterize its chemical signatures and seek further clues about its origin.
Borisov said his groundbreaking observation which happened on August 30, was not made by pure luck: "My eighth comet was a logical discovery due to good equipment, persistence and a lot of observation," he said.
(Production: Anton Derbenev, Masha Vasilieva) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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