I think it's a shame that this story hasn't gotten more attention.
True, it doesn't tell us as much about the nature of the universe as the discovery of the Higgs boson, and it doesn't represent a major advance in engineering like gravitational wave detection. But it is the only chance we have ever had to directly view a largeish piece of another solar system, just millions of miles away. The next time probably won't come until we send a probe to Proxima Centauri.
To me, the thought of an asteroid being hurled out of the solar system that created it, then traveling through the cold void for millions or possibly billions of years, and then whipping around the sun (a mere 0.25 AU distant) is just the most incredible thing. The whole world should be having parties in its honor, to wish it well as it leaves us behind. (Instead of just fighting each other over nothing, as we usually do.)
This is an amazing time to be alive.
True, it doesn't tell us as much about the nature of the universe as the discovery of the Higgs boson, and it doesn't represent a major advance in engineering like gravitational wave detection. But it is the only chance we have ever had to directly view a largeish piece of another solar system, just millions of miles away. The next time probably won't come until we send a probe to Proxima Centauri.
To me, the thought of an asteroid being hurled out of the solar system that created it, then traveling through the cold void for millions or possibly billions of years, and then whipping around the sun (a mere 0.25 AU distant) is just the most incredible thing. The whole world should be having parties in its honor, to wish it well as it leaves us behind. (Instead of just fighting each other over nothing, as we usually do.)
This is an amazing time to be alive.
via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2B04L3m
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