It's almost as if the Universe is playing billiards.

~NightSky

By Michael Snyder

Astronomers just discovered that an absolutely gigantic space rock that they have never seen before has entered our solar system. For now, they are referring to this giant space rock as “A11pl3Z”, and they are scrambling to find out all they can about it. At this stage, they don’t even know if it is a comet, an asteroid or something else. What they do know is that it is very large. According to one estimate, it is 12 miles wide. That means that Apophis is just a tiny pebble compared to this monster. They also know that it is getting closer to the Sun, although the exact trajectory of the object is uncertain. As it speeds toward the Sun, it appears that Mars will be the planet that has the closest encounter with this giant space rock. Is there a possibility that it could actually collide with Mars?

We are being told that the reason astronomers have never seen this giant space rock before is because it originally comes from another solar system…

There is a growing buzz in the astronomy community about a new object with a hyperbolic trajectory that is moving toward the inner Solar System.

Early on Wednesday, the European Space Agency confirmed that the object, tentatively known as A11pl3Z, did indeed have interstellar origins.

“Astronomers may have just discovered the third interstellar object passing through the Solar System!” the agency’s Operations account shared on Bluesky. “ESA’s Planetary Defenders are observing the object, provisionally known as #A11pl3Z, right now using telescopes around the world.”

In recent years, two other giant space rocks that traveled into our solar system from somewhere else have been discovered. Oumuamua was the first, and Borisov was the second.

Now, A11pl3Z will be the third example of this phenomenon…

There’s a new object in the solar system headed toward the sun, and it may have come from interstellar space. We only know of two other interstellar objects that have entered into our solar system before, ‘Oumuamua and Comet 2I/Borisov. The nature of ‘Oumuamua is still a matter of debate, and the second was a comet from another solar system. And now we may have a third interstellar visitor. Currently named A11pl3Z, this object has a trajectory that suggests it didn’t originate inside our own solar system.

The primary reason why astronomers have become convinced that A11pl3Z did not originate in our solar system is because it has an extremely hyperbolic trajectory…

An engineer at the University of Arizona’s Catalina Sky Survey, David Rankin, said recent estimates of the object’s eccentricity are about 6. A purely circular orbit has an eccentricity value of 0, and anything above 1 is hyperbolic. Essentially, this is a very, very strong indication that A11pl3Z originated outside of the Solar System.

I agree with that analysis.

I am convinced that it will become increasingly common for us to encounter enormous interstellar objects as the entire Alpha Centauri system travels directly toward us at a speed of approximately 79,000 kilometers per hour.

Right now, A11pl3Z is on the other side of the Sun, and it is reportedly already inside the orbit of Jupiter…

A11pl3Z is currently slightly inside the orbit of Jupiter, but on almost exactly the opposite side of the Sun, so it has not been affected by the giant planet’s gravity.

First detected by the ATLAS sky survey on July 1, A11pl3Z was announced on BlueSky by astronomy student K Ly with the handle astrafoxen. The discovery set off a scramble by other observatories to see if they had images of it that they had overlooked, which could help refine its orbit.

This is a brand new discovery.

To me, it is quite alarming that this absolutely gigantic space rock got so close before our astronomers were finally able to spot it.

And with each passing day, it will be getting even closer.

According to Daily Galaxy, it is being estimated that A11pl3Z will come within approximately 0.4 AU of Mars in early October…

It will pass Mars at approximately 0.4 AU, barely within the observable range of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. As A11pl3Z moves closer, the object’s characteristics will likely become clearer, adding to the growing body of knowledge regarding interstellar objects.

If that estimate turns out to be accurate, A11pl3Z will pass Mars at a very safe distance.

But as I did more research, I discovered that another estimate has A11pl3Z “coming within just 0.2 au of the Red Planet” on October 3rd…

A11pl3Z is currently about 3.8 astronomical units (au) from Earth, according to Avi Loeb, an astronomer at Harvard University. One astronomical unit is equal to the average distance between the Earth and the Sun. On October 3, it should make a close approach to Mars, coming within just 0.2 au of the Red Planet, Universe Today reports.

Is it going to be 0.4 AU or 0.2 AU?

There is an enormous difference between those two estimates.

And what if both estimates are wrong?

If you shave off another 0.2 AU, there is a possibility that A11pl3Z could actually collide with Mars.

So what would happen if a giant space rock that is 12 miles wide were to collide with Mars?

According to astronomer Marshall Eubanks, A11pl3Z is traveling at a speed of approximately 56 miles per second…

Scientists estimate it could be up to 12 miles across. It could also set a new speed record, ripping by the Earth with a relative velocity of around 56 miles per second, according to radio astronomer Marshall Eubanks.

If an object that big and traveling that fast were to hit something, the destructive power would be unimaginable.

The good news is that A11pl3Z is not expected to come anywhere close to our planet.

In fact, the closest that it is expected to get to our planet is 1.35 AU on October 30th…

A11pl3Z should make its closest approach to the Sun on October 29 and its closest approach to Earth on October 30, both at a distance of 1.35 au.

But for a moment, let’s consider what would happen if a space rock that size was heading directly toward the Earth.

Needless to say, we would be facing an extinction-level event.

In fact, scientists have estimated that if an asteroid that is just 7 or 8 miles wide hit us it would “wipe out most everything on Earth”…

For an asteroid to wipe out most everything on Earth, it would have to be massive. Scientists estimate it would take an asteroid about 7 to 8 miles (11 to 12 kilometers) wide crashing into the Earth. Once it made impact, it would create a tremendous dust plume that would envelope the entire planet, block out the sun and raise temperatures where the asteroid made impact. Billions would die, and much of life on the planet would be destroyed. But, scientists believe some would survive.

So let’s watch A11pl3Z very closely.

There appears to be no chance that it will hit Earth.

But if it did hit Mars, how would we be affected? There would surely be a tremendous amount of dust, and rock blasted into space.

Let’s hope that we don’t find out…