An interstellar object is currently traveling through our solar system at 60 km per second

Many objects, such as comets and asteroids, have always passed through the solar system. But recently, a new interstellar object has been spotted by astronomers, and its trajectory and speed are intriguing scientists around the world. 

Discovered at the end of June by the ATLAS system, a network of telescopes located in Hawaii, Chile and South Africa, this interstellar object, provisionally named A11pl3Z, is unlike any previous ones. It is estimated to be 20 km in diameter and traveling at a speed of around 152 000 mph.

But that's not all, because its origin is also intriguing. Initial calculations show that its trajectory does not appear to be linked to the Sun's gravitational field. In other words, everything suggests that it comes from outside the solar system, which would make it an interstellar object. Currently located 3.8 astronomical units from the Sun, it is expected to pass close to Mars' orbit on October 3, 2025. As far as we are concerned, it poses no risk of collision with Earth, as it will be far too distant. 

It should also be noted that this is not the first interstellar object to pass through the solar system. In fact, in 2017, 1I/ʻOumuamua made headlines due to its unique appearance, and some people claimed that this bolide came from an extraterrestrial civilization, particularly because of its strange behavior related to changes in speed and trajectory. Finally, in 2019, comet 2I/Borisov allowed scientists to understand that there are many interstellar objects in space.

Although it poses no threat to us and its passage through our solar system will be brief and without return, scientists want to observe this bolide from different angles. To do so, they could use the world's most powerful optical telescope, Vera C. Rubin. They could also turn to the rovers on Mars and the James Webb Space Telescope, which is capable of detecting unexplained variations in speed or trajectory. 

However, hypotheses are already emerging about this interstellar bolide. But the most likely hypothesis is that this bolide is a rocky fragment ejected from a distant star system hundreds of millions of years ago. In any case, future observations of this fireball will provide answers.