Scientists have made a major new discovery after spotting a mysterious 'interstellar object' traveling at high speeds throughout our solar system, and it could represent just the third of its kind to visit our system.
Despite the immeasurable size of the universe, it is seemingly exceedingly rare for any objects outside of our solar system to make a passing visit - yet that has changed once more with a recent discovery.
Spotted in data collected between June 25 and June 29, scientists were able to identify a mystery object they believe has originated from somewhere beyond our solar system, and could travel all the way through without stopping.
What is the mysterious object spotted by scientists?
As reported by Live Science, this interstellar object has been named A11pl3Z and is likely either an astroid of some form or a comet - although scientists cannot determine for sure until further research has been conducted.
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The data itself was collected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), which uses telescopes in South Africa and Hawaii to automatically scan the sky in search of anomalies.
A11pl3Z obviously stood out in the findings as an unusual visitor, as it stretches roughly 12 miles across and is currently traveling at roughly 152,000 miles per hour, and likely shows no sign of stopping as it'll remain unaffected by the Sun's gravitational influence.
It marks just the third time that an object from outside of our solar system has been identified by scientists after Comet 2l/Borizov in 2019 and 'Oumuamua in 2017, although scientists have indicated that there are likely many that go unnoticed.
Could A11pl3Z hit Earth?
The big question no doubt on the lips of many is whether A11pl3Z poses a risk of striking Earth as it speeds through the solar system, and thankfully based on its current predicted trajectory it poses no risk whatsoever.
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Unlike asteroids like 2024 YR4 identified earlier this year, this interstellar visitor appears to have a clear and predictable path that keeps it well wide of not just Earth but every major planet in our solar system.
Its current position is around 3.8 times further away from the Sun as Earth, and it'll glide past Mars at a relatively close distance on October 3 later this year.
On October 23 it will reach the closest point to the Sun - although that remains still twice the distance than between Earth and our central star.
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Earth will remain safe due to it's position on the opposite side of the Sun when A11pl3Z flies past, leaving zero risk of any form of collision unless its course dramatically changes.
It will reach its closest point to us at some point in December, but that will be when it is on its way out of our solar system and is far beyond our planet still.