An international team of scientists that includes University of British Columbia astronomer Brett Gladman has found an unusual object whose backward and tilted orbit around the Sun may clarify the origins of certain comets.
In the first discovery of its kind, researchers from Canada, France and the United States have discovered an object that orbits around the Sun backwards, and tilted at an angle of 104 degrees – almost perpendicular to the orbits of the planets.
“Certain types of comets are not naturally produced after planet formation, especially those with highly tilted orbits,” says Prof. Gladman. “This discovery may finally show how they transition from the Oort Cloud to become objects like Halley’s Comet.”
Composed of icy rock, 2008 KV42 is called a “trans-Neptunian” object since its orbital path is larger than that of Neptune. The object is roughly 50 kilometres across and at present 35 times further from than the Sun than Earth.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080904151635.htm
