NASA Spots ‘Alien’ Matter From Beyond Solar System

NASA Spots ‘Alien’ Matter From Beyond Solar System

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

For the very first time, a NASA spacecraft has detected matter from outside our solar system — material that came from elsewhere in the galaxy. This so-called interstellar material was spotted by NASA’s Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX), a spacecraft that is studying the edge of the solar system from its orbit about 200,000 miles (322,000 kilometers) above Earth.

An international team of scientists presented new findings, which included the first detection of alien particles of hydrogen, oxygen and neon, in addition to the confirmation of previously detected helium. These atoms are remnants of older stars that have ended their lives in violent explosions, called supernovas, which dispersed the elements throughout the galaxy. As interstellar wind blows these charged and neutral particles through the Milky Way, the IBEX probe is able to create a census of the elements that are present – elements that are the building blocks of stars, planets and people.