Peter Yoachim

In October 2017, the Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii spotted an object moving too fast to belong to the solar system. It was 1I/ʻOumuamua, the first interstellar visitor ever recorded by astronomers. Since then, two more have joined it: comet 2I/Borisov and object 3I/ATLAS.

Astronomers have tested the new Vera C. Rubin telescope in Chile, much like adjusting the focus and aperture on a brand-new camera. The first images covered a patch of sky the size of 60 full Moons, and immediately revealed millions of galaxies and stars. The imaging was done in various colors, from invisible ultraviolet to thermal infrared.