Related papers: Capture of interstellar objects II: by the Solar s…
A broad array of interstellar absorption features that appear in the ultraviolet spectra of bright sources allows us to measure the abundances and ionization states of many important heavy elements that exist as free atoms in the…
1I/`Oumuamua is the first of likely many small bodies of extrasolar origin to be found in the solar system. These interstellar objects (ISOs) are hypothesized to have formed in extrasolar planetary systems prior to being ejected into…
The interstellar cloud surrounding the solar system regulates the galactic environment of the Sun, and determines the boundary conditions of the heliosphere. Both the Sun and interstellar clouds move through space, so these boundary…
The low density interstellar medium (ISM) close to the Sun and inside of the heliosphere provides a unique laboratory for studying interstellar dust grains. Grain characteristics in the nearby ISM are obtained from observations of…
We consider the capture of galactic dark matter by the Solar System, due to the gravitational three-body interaction of the Sun, a planet, and a dark matter particle. Simple estimates are presented for the capture cross-section, as well as…
Using the "statite," or static-satelite, concept -- an artificial satellite capable of hovering in place using a solar sail -- this work proposes to create a dynamic orbital slingshot in anticipation of Interstellar Objects (ISOs) passing…
In this chapter we review our knowledge of our galaxy's cometary population outside our Oort Cloud - exocomets and Interstellar Objects (ISOs). We start with a brief overview of planetary system formation, viewed as a general process around…
We have obtained high resolution (FWHM = 4.4 km/s) Keck spectra of images A and C of the gravitationally lensed QSO Q1422+231. The images are separated by 1.3" on the sky. In an absorption system at z = 3.538 gas column density variations…
We use analytical and $N$-body methods to study the capture of field stars by gravitating substructures moving across a galactic environment. The majority of stars captured by a substructure move on temporarily-bound orbits that are lost to…
In this paper we calculate the expected orbital elements, radiants, and velocities of Earth-impacting interstellar objects. We generate a synthetic population of $\sim10^{10}$ interstellar objects with M-star kinematics in order to obtain…
During the planet formation process, billions of comets are created and ejected into interstellar space. The detection and characterization of such interstellar comets (also known as extra-solar planetesimals or extra-solar comets) would…
With the availability of considerably more data, we revisit the question of how special our Solar System is, compared to observed exoplanetary systems. To this goal, we employ a mathematical transformation that allows for a meaningful,…
The bulk flow velocity for the cluster of interstellar cloudlets within about 30 pc of the Sun is determined from optical and ultraviolet absorption line data, after omitting from the sample stars with circumstellar disks or variable…
The physical properties and kinematics of the partially ionized interstellar material near the Sun are typical of warm diffuse clouds in the solar vicinity. The interstellar magnetic field at the heliosphere and the kinematics of nearby…
In the preceding paper (paper I), we presented HI absorption spectra towards radio sources very close to the lines of sight towards 25 bright stars against which optical absorption spectra had been obtained earlier. In this paper we analyse…
A surprisingly large amount of information on our solar system can be gained from simple measurements of the apparent angular diameters of the sun and the moon. This information includes the average density of the sun, the distance between…
We investigated the probability that an inelastic collision of planetesimals within the Hill sphere of the Jovian planets could explain the presence and orbits of observed irregular satellites. Capture of satellites via this mechanism is…
Old isolated accreting neutron stars may show up among unidentified soft X--ray sources detected by the ROSAT All Sky Survey. We argue that the chances of identification are greater for ONSs located in the closest overdense regions of the…
Spectra obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope GHRS are combined with high-resolution optical spectra and UV spectra from Copernicus to study the abundances and physical conditions in the diffuse interstellar clouds seen along the line of…
Starting with nearby galaxy clusters like Virgo and Coma, and continuing out to the furthest galaxy clusters for which ISO results have yet been published ($z=0.56$), we discuss the development of knowledge of the infrared and associated…