Just at the edge of our solar system and halfway to the nearest stars is a group of icy objects floating in space known as the Oort Cloud. Passing stars sometimes push these icy travelers toward the sun, and scientists see them as long-tailed comets. Theoretically, the very basis for understanding the origin of our solar system lies in the fact that in these remote regions there are only objects of ice and, of course, nothing of stone.
That changed in 2021, when an international team of scientists, astronomers, professional and amateur astronomers, led by Western meteorological physicists, took photos and videos of a rocky meteoroid as it flew through the skies above central Alberta in a blinding ball of fire. Since then, scientists have concluded that all signs point to the object being right in the middle of the Oort cloud. The results were published in the journal natural astronomy.
“This discovery supports a completely different model for the formation of the solar system, which supports the idea that a significant amount of rocky material coexists with icy objects in the Oort cloud. This result is not explained by the currently favored models for the formation of the solar system. This is a game-changer,” said meteor physics researcher Denis Vida.
All previous stone fireballs have come much closer to Earth, which makes this body, which has apparently traveled great distances, completely unexpected. Modern cameras from the Global Fireball Observatory (GFO), developed in Australia and operated by the University of Alberta, observed a rocky meteoroid the size of a grapefruit (about 2 kg). Using tools from the Global Meteor Network, scientists calculated that it is moving in an orbit normally reserved for icy long-period comets in the Oort cloud.
“In 70 years of regular fireball sightings, this is one of the most unusual on record. It confirms the GFO strategy, developed five years ago, which extended the “fishing net” to 5 million square kilometers of sky and brought together scientific research from around the world. Not only does this allow us to find and study valuable meteorites, but it’s the only way to capture those rarer phenomena that are key to understanding our solar system,” said University researcher Hadrien Devillepoix. Curtin, Australia, and GFO Principal Investigator. .
During its flight, the Alberta fireball plunged much deeper into the atmosphere than icy objects in similar orbits, and shattered like a fireball dropping stone meteorites – proof necessary that it was well made of stone. Conversely, comets are mostly fluffy snowballs mixed with dust that slowly evaporates as they get closer to the Sun. The dust and gases inside form a sort of tail that can stretch for millions of kilometres.
“We want to explain how this rocky meteoroid got so far away because we want to understand our own origins. The better we understand the conditions under which the solar system formed, the better we understand what was necessary for the emergence of life,” said the scientist.
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