WAT-ER JOURNEY Mystery comet visiting our Solar System is carrying ‘alien water’ from lightyears away

A MYSTERIOUS comet that has just entered our Solar System could be carrying ‘alien water’, according to a new study.

Researchers analysing the interstellar 2I/Borisov comet think that it’s releasing water vapour as it zooms closer to us from light-years away.

Scientists have been comparing it to the creepy space rock Oumuamua.

Oumuamua was the first interstellar object to be detected in our Solar System, meaning it had travelled from a far off place outside the Milky Way.

It is so unusual in shape and behaviour that some people even thought it was an alien probe.

Comet 2I/Borisov is the second ‘alien’ visitor ever seen by astronomers.

The interstellar water vapour proposal has been submitted to The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

The researchers wrote: “The discovery of interstellar comet 2I/Borisov provides an opportunity to sample the volatile composition of a comet that is unambiguously from outside our own solar system, providing constraints on the physics and chemistry of other protostellar discs.”

Comets in our Solar System are well known for being rich in water.

There is even a theory that lots of Earth’s water could have been brought here by comets and asteroids.

A team from the Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center used light spectrums to observe what kind of chemical compositions were being given off by the space rock.

It was determined that the comet is giving off 1.13 x 1025 litres of water per second.

A separate investigation found that the comet was oddly similar to other comets despite coming from so far away.

It’s said to be reddish in colour with a solid core that has a diameter of around one kilometre.

Researchers managed to spot the comet back in September with a special computer programme designed specifically to find interstellar objects.

They were also able to take pictures of 2I/Borisov and observe it more closely.

One of the researchers, Michal Drahus of the Jagiellonian University, said: “We immediately noticed the familiar coma and tail that were not seen around ‘Oumuamua.

“This is really cool because it means that our new visitor is one of these mythical and never-before-seen ‘real’ interstellar comets.”

The team will continue to observe the comet in the hope of learning new things as it makes its closest approach to the Sun on December 8.

You may also like...