Observing the interstellar comet C/2019 Q4 with the Joan Oró Telescope of the Montsec Astronomical Observatory

2019-09-20 00:00:00

In September 2019, the Joan Oró Telescope (TJO) of the Montsec Astronomical Observatory (Observatori Astronòmic del Montsec, OAdM) is observing the interstellar comet C/ 2019 Q4 (Borisov), more popularly known as “Oumuamua2”.

It is believed that its origin could be outside of the Solar System, making it an interstellar comet not gravitationally linked to the Sun. The results of the C/2019 Q4 data analysis clearly indicate that other stars’ comets are similar and would have been formed by means of processes very similar to those that occurred in our Solar System. This would reinforce the idea that planetary systems around other stars different than the Sun are similar to our planetary system. At the moment, Oumuamua2 moves at 30.7 km/s and it travels around 6.47 AU/year (AU = astronomical unit, the distance between the Sun and the Earth).

In the coming nights, as C/2019 Q4 approaches the perihelion, it will be possible to confirm whether it really is the second well-known object that comes from outside our Solar System. In the image, you can see its movement during the night of 11 September 2019.