Interstellar comet Borisov, photographed in January 2020. -

Yonhap News / Newscom / SIPA

Comet 2I / Borisov, discovered in 2019, could be one of the “purest” ever observed by astronomers.

This was estimated by researchers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO), reports

Numerama

.

Two studies on the subject were published on Tuesday in the journal

Nature Communications

and the journal

Nature Astronomy

.

Borisov "probably never passed near the Sun or any other star", say the scientists.

As a result, its composition would never have been changed.

Comet 2I / Borisov, the "purest" to visit our neighborhood https://t.co/EnKlhTjf7A

- Alain Labelle (@AlainLabelleRC) March 30, 2021

Observed thanks to the Very Large Telescope

It would thus represent “the first truly intact comet that has ever been observed”.

If this hypothesis were to be verified, this comet would represent "an intact vestige of the cloud of gas and dust from which it came", indicate the studies.

To reach these conclusions, the researchers used ESO's Very Large Telescope, located in Chile.

They were able to measure the polarization of light through comet dust in order to learn more about the physics and chemistry of the celestial object.

A resemblance to a comet discovered in 1995

They then realized that 2I / Borisov had polarimetric properties different from all other known comets, which had already grazed various stars that had potentially altered their composition.

All except Hale-Bopp (C / 1995 O1), a comet discovered in 1995 and considered the purest known to astronomers.

"Comet 2I / Borisov showed polarimetrically homogeneous hair," the researchers explain.

“[This] suggests that this is an even more intact object than Comet Hale-Bopp.

The environment in which 2I / Borisov was formed could be quite similar to that of the beginnings of our own solar system, and thus allow us to learn more about our origins.

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