A group of interstellar asteroids was first found in the solar system

The researchers explained that asteroids have been orbiting the Sun since the beginning of the Solar System.

However, for the first time in history they discovered a groupcelestial bodies that appeared beyond its borders. According to their hypothesis, some of them were attracted to the Sun over time, but scientists are confident that they were originally of interstellar origin.

In a study by the Royal Astronomical InstituteThe society notes that we are talking about a group of celestial bodies that rotate separately from the rest. Known collectively as Centaurs, it is located between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. They also have very specific orbits. The simulations showed that the asteroids should crash into each other and eventually fly out of the system. 

Using these simulations, researchers obtainedmodels of the first days of the existence of the solar system - it turned out that asteroids rotated beyond its borders. Their motion is perpendicular to the plane of the orbits of other planets and asteroids. These data suggest that asteroids historically do not belong to the solar system - they sucked from the interstellar medium.

Scientists have modeled how Arrokoth, a giant snowman at the edge of the solar system, formed

In 2017, researchers found a celestial body1I/Oumuamua is the first interstellar object discovered to pass through the Solar System. The object moves with non-gravitational acceleration, which can only be explained by the cometary nature of the body.

Now 19 more such asteroids have been identified. They are in orbit between four planets. Thanks to this discovery, astronomers and researchers will be able to better understand the features of asteroids of “foreign” origin.

"The discovery of a whole population of interstellar asteroidsorigin is an important step in understanding the physical and chemical similarities and differences between those born in the solar system and interstellar asteroids, ”said Maria Helena Morais, who participated in the study.