New composite image by Travis Rector captures first-ever interstellar comet

by Michelle Saport  |   

A new composite image created by UAA professor Travis Rector, using data from the Gemini Observatory, captures the first recorded interstellar comet. The image of the newly discovered object, denoted C/2019 Q4 (Borisov), was obtained using the Gemini North Telescope on Hawaii's Maunakea. Since its discovery, Comet Borisov - only the second visitor from beyond our solar system to ever be detected - has been featured in Forbes, CNN and National Geographic.

Gemini Observatory two-color composite image of C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) which is the first interstellar comet ever identified. This image was obtained using the Gemini North Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) from Hawaii's Maunakea. The image was obtained with four 60-second exposures in bands (filters) r and g. Blue and red dashes are images of background stars which appear to streak due to the motion of the comet. Composite image by Travis Rector. Image Credit: Gemini Observatory/NSF/AURA

Gemini Observatory two-color composite image of C/2019 Q4 (Borisov) - the first interstellar comet ever identified.
Composite image by Travis Rector. Image credit: Gemini Observatory/NSF/AURA

Find more of Travis Rector's images here.

Creative Commons License "New composite image by Travis Rector captures first-ever interstellar comet" is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

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