By IANS,
Toronto : In a discovery which may hold clues to the origin of comets, astronomers have found an object that orbits the sun backwards and tilts at an angle of 104 degrees – almost perpendicular to the orbits of the planets in our solar system.
They have named this unique object 2008KV42.
Canadian astronomer Brett Gladman, who is a part of the international team behind the discovery, said in a statement Friday that this unusual object with backward and tilted orbit around the sun may clarify the origins of certain comets.
“Certain types of comets are not naturally produced after planet formation, especially those with highly tilted orbits.
“This discovery may finally show how they transition from the Oort Cloud (the hypothetical spherical cloud around a comet) to become objects like Halley’s Comet,” said Gladman.
Composed of icy rock, 2008 KV42 is a “trans-Neptunian” object since its orbital path is larger than that of Neptune, added Gladman, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
He said the object is roughly 50 kilometres wide and currently 35 times further from the sun than earth, adding that the orbits of such objects beyond Neptune’s orbit provide fresh insights into the early history of the solar system.
The new discovery is the result of a targeted international search for objects with highly tilted orbits.
Gladman said they made the discovery using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii. After this, they made follow-up observations with the MMT (multiple-mirror telescope) in Arizona, the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) four-metre telescope in Chile, and the Gemini South telescope, also in Chile.
“Having quick access to the MMT and Gemini South telescopes was critical here. Given the highly unusual orbit, the object would have been lost without the rapid tracking from these large telescopes,” said Gladman.
He said their team was currently tracking 2008 KV42 to pin down its orbit with greater precision.
Once this is done, he added, they will begin unravelling the archaeological information trapped in the orbit of this “highly exceptional member of the trans-Neptunian population”.