Interstellar Comet Visits Our Solar System, Awes Astronomers

Astronomers have their eyes on a rare comet zooming 100,000 miles per hour through our solar system. It’s rare because it’s coming from outside our solar system. The comet named 2I/Borisov is the first confirmed interstellar comet.

The Hubble space telescope captured stunning images of the comet. Scientists are pouring through the data to figure out what it’s made of and where it came from. That information can help us better understand our universe. We’ll talk with planetary astronomer Heidi Hammel about what we know — and don’t yet know — about this incredible discovery.

Then, there’s a lot of talk about life on Mars, but how do we actually find it? This week on “I’d Like to Know,” we’ll chat with our panel of planetary scientists about the likelihood of finding signs of life on the red planet and where else in the solar system we should be looking.