A comet-like object was first discovered near Jupiter

The NASA I was surprised to find a celestial body similar to a Comet, In an area Solar System No such object has been found yet. The U.S. space agency called him an “unexpected visitor” on his blog because he was in the area between Neptune. Thursday, But closer to the second. The comet is called LD2, a study published on February 11 The Astronomical Journal.

It is observed in the middle of Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids, which are rocks orbiting the Sun at the time of the “giant”. The object is made of ice, and small meteorites familiar to scientists in this area belong to the category of centaurs. As their paths get closer to the sun, they heat up and appear closer to the comet.

First observed in 2019

An image of the LED 2 shows signs of degassing and that the tail has a halo of dust and gas. Researchers now want to understand how the sky ended up in this unusual place after being attracted by the gravitational pull of Jupiter. At one point in the journey, they calculated that LD2 must be very close to the planet, and then its Trojan is trapped on the asteroids.

Computer simulations estimate that about two years ago the object was rubbed on the shoulder with the largest planets in the solar system. The comet was first observed in June 2019, prompting astronomers to study previous photos. An image of LD2 dating two months ago was later found. Used later by scientists Hubble To get the best photo.