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1I/’Oumuamua (Illustration)
This artist’s illustration shows the first identified interstellar visitor, 1I/'Oumuamua, discovered in 2017. The wayward object swung within 24 million miles of the Sun before racing out of the solar system. 'Oumuamua still defies any simple categorization. It did not behave like a comet, and it had a variety of unusual characteristics. As the complex rotation of the object made it difficult to determine the exact shape, there are many models of what it could look like.
- Release DateFebruary 16, 2022
- Science ReleaseStudying the Next Interstellar Interloper with Webb
- CreditArtwork: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI)
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Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov (Hubble)
This Hubble Space Telescope image of 2I/Borisov shows the first observed rogue comet, a comet from interstellar space that is not gravitationally bound to a star. It was discovered in 2019 and is the second identified interstellar interloper, after 'Oumuamua. 2I/Borisov looks a...
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Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov
NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI), Frank Summers (STScI)
