A rocky cigar-shaped asteroid has been confirmed as the first ever interstellar object to enter our solar system – and the space visitor could even provide an insight into the formation of other planetary systems beyond our own.
Spotted last month by astronomers using the Pan-STARRS1 telescope in Hawaii, the rock has been dubbed ‘Oumuamua’ by the International Astronomical Union. The name means “a messenger from afar arriving first” in the language of the Central Pacific island.
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