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Interstellar interlopers are bodies formed outside of the Solar System but observed passing through it. The first two identified interlopers, 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, exhibited unexpectedly different physical properties. 1I/‘Oumuamua appeared unresolved and asteroid-like, whereas 2I/Borisov was a more comet-like source of both gas and dust. Both objects moved under the action of nongravitational acceleration. These interlopers and their divergent properties provide our only window so far onto an enormous and previously unknown galactic population. The number density of such objects is ∼0.1 AU−3which, if uniform across the galactic disk, would imply 1025to 1026similar objects in the Milky Way. The interlopers likely formed in, and were ejected from, the protoplanetary disks of young stars. However, we currently possess too little data to firmly reject other explanations. ▪ 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov are both gravitationally unbound, subkilometer bodies showing nongravitational acceleration. ▪ The acceleration of 1I/‘Oumuamua in the absence of measurable mass loss requires either a strained explanation in terms of recoil from sublimating supervolatiles or the action of radiation pressure on a nucleus with an ultralow mass column density, ∼1 kg m−2. ▪ 2I/Borisov is a strong source of CO and H2O, which together account for its activity and nongravitational acceleration. ▪ The interlopers are most likely planetesimals from the protoplanetary disks of other stars, ejected by gravitational scattering from planets. 1I/‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov have dynamical ages ∼108and ∼109years, respectively. ▪ Forthcoming observatories should detect interstellar interlopers every year, which will provide a rapid boost to our knowledge of the population.
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This content will become publicly available on November 22, 2025
Strong Nongravitational Accelerations and the Potential for Misidentification of Near-Earth Objects
Abstract Nongravitational accelerations in the absence of observed activity have recently been identified on near-Earth objects (NEOs), opening the question of the prevalence of anisotropic mass loss in the near-Earth environment. Motivated by the necessity of nongravitational accelerations to identify 2010 VL65and 2021 UA12as a single object, we investigate the problem of linking separate apparitions in the presence of nongravitational perturbations. We find that nongravitational accelerations on the order of 1 × 10–9au day−2can lead to a change in plane-of-sky positions of ∼1 × 103arcsec between apparitions. Moreover, we inject synthetic tracklets of hypothetical nongravitationally accelerating NEOs into the Minor Planet Center orbit identification algorithms. We find that at large nongravitational accelerations (∣Ai∣ ≥ 1 × 10−8au day−2) these algorithms fail to link a significant fraction of these tracklets. We further show that if orbits can be determined for both apparitions, the tracklets will be linked regardless of nongravitational accelerations, although they may be linked to multiple objects. In order to aid in the identification and linkage of nongravitationally accelerating objects, we propose and test a new methodology to search for unlinked pairs. When applied to the current census of NEOs, we recover the previously identified case but identify no new linkages. We conclude that current linking algorithms are generally robust to nongravitational accelerations, but objects with large nongravitational accelerations may potentially be missed. While current algorithms are well-positioned for the anticipated increase in the census population from future survey missions, it may be possible to find objects with large nongravitational accelerations hidden in isolated tracklet pairs.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2303553
- PAR ID:
- 10591669
- Publisher / Repository:
- AAS
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Volume:
- 976
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0004-637X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 190
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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