Comment by ryanblakeley
2 days ago
There were a number of anomalous characteristics including its shape, acceleration, rotation, origin, and reflectivity.
2 days ago
There were a number of anomalous characteristics including its shape, acceleration, rotation, origin, and reflectivity.
How do we know they're anomalous characteristics if it's literally the first one we've ever spotted? What is the normal shape of an interstellar comet core?
The same as the ones from this system. Borisov had the same characteristics.
> The same as the ones from this system.
Why would we assume non-interstellar comets are always the same as interstellar comets? Conditions obviously are a little different when something is ejected from a system and then spends millions of years in interstellar space.
> Borisov had the same characteristics.
We have a sample size of three thus far. Making conclusions right now is like saying all extrasolar planets are large gas giants because the first three were.
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For example, being flat like a pancake is obviously highly unusual and very different from anything we have seen from stellar comets.
Stellar comets haven't been ejected from another solar system. We have vanishingly few examples of those, and we've not directly observed any up close.
"Flat as a pancake" is one of several theoretical possibilities from its light curve, not a known fact about the object.
"Highly unusual" in space tends to mean "there are a bunch, but we haven't seen them until now". In 1992, exoplanets were "highly unusual". Now they're everywhere.
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