Comet A117uUD: How Saturn’s 2022 Encounter Changed Its Orbit and Ejected It from the Solar System

Scientists recently identified a comet that is leaving the solar system after a close encounter with the planet Saturn. This comet, named A117uUD, discovered on June 14, 2024 by the Asteroid Earth Impact Warning System (ATLAS), travels outside the solar system at a distance of about 6,710 miles per hour (10,800 km / h).

Reporting from Space.com (4/8), these results indicate that A117uUD’s encounter with Saturn in 2022 has had a major impact on the comet’s orbit, putting it on a long elliptical path. With a very high speed, this comet is expected to cross the solar influence boundary and enter the interstellar space.

Research published in the journal *Research Notes of the AAS* shows that this is the second example of a solar system comet being ejected after interacting with a planet. The first case was comet C/1980 E1 (Bowell) which experienced ejection after its encounter with Jupiter in 1980.

This research, led by radiologist Sahar Saleem from Cairo University and anthropologist Samia El-Merghani, revealed that A117uUD has undergone significant changes in its orbit as a result of interaction with Saturn. Model calculations show that this comet will continue to accelerate out of the solar system at a speed far exceeding the speed of a Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jet.

These findings confirm that such events may occur more often than previously thought. “Our results show that the case of comet A117uUD is similar to the case of C/1980 E1 (Bowell), indicating that events of this type occur relatively frequently,” the research team wrote in their paper.

At first, researchers thought that A117uUD was an extrasolar object that visited our system. However, after an in-depth analysis, it was determined that this comet was part of the solar system that was leaving its home. This discovery adds to the list of interstellar objects that have entered and left the solar system, following in the footsteps of ‘Oumuamua and comet 2I/Borisov.

As A117uUD continues its space journey, scientists hope that this comet will continue to inspire and attract attention, perhaps someday with alien civilizations far into the future.