For the first time that we know, an interstellar visitor has zoomed through our solar system. The small space rock, tentatively called A/2017 U1, is about a quarter of a mile long and astronomers across the world are racing to study it before it departs just as quickly as it arrived. At first he thought it was a type of space rock known as a near earth object, but he realized its motion did not make sense. He quickly realized that it was not of this solar system. After contacting a colleague at the European Space Agency to discuss the find, he submitted it to the Minor Planet Center, which tracks objects in the solar system, to share with other astronomers.

Source: New York Times October 27, 2017 23:03 UTC