Suggested Searches

1 min read

Comet 2I/Borisov Time-Lapse

This is a time-lapse sequence compressing Hubble Space Telescope observations of comet 2I/Borisov, spanning a seven-hour period. As the first confirmed interstellar comet to enter our solar system, comet 2I/Borisov is moving along at a breakneck speed of 110,000 miles per hour. To photograph the comet Hubble has to track it, like a photographer tracking a racetrack horse. Therefore, background stars are streaked in the exposure frames. An artificial satellite also crosses the field of view. Hubble reveals a central concentration of dust around an unseen nucleus. Comet 2I/Borisov is only the second such interstellar object known to have passed through the solar system. In 2017, the first identified interstellar visitor, an object formally named 'Oumuamua, swung within 24 million miles of the Sun before racing out of the solar system.
  • Release Date
    October 16, 2019
  • Science Release
    Hubble Observes First Confirmed Interstellar Comet
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, D. Jewitt (UCLA), and J. DePasquale (STScI)

Downloads

  • Image: Small, 383 × 318
    gif (2.33 MB)
  • Image: Medium, 765 × 635
    gif (7.52 MB)
  • Image: Large, 1148 × 952
    gif (18.65 MB)
  • 1280 × 720, 30 FPS
    mp4 (2.71 MB)
  • 1920 × 1080, 30 FPS
    mp4 (5.93 MB)

Share

Details

Last Updated
Mar 12, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov