Alden Hunt '20 presents his certificate project, "Visitors From the Void," during the Program in Journalism's Senior Colloquium.
A couple of years ago, a little blip on a Hawaiian telescope image turned out to be a Big Deal. The blip was an interstellar asteroid – a visitor from beyond the solar system. Since that time, astronomers have intently studied data from the asteroid, named ‘Oumuamua, and have detected one more interstellar object, the comet Borisov. But studying the objects’ unusual compositions has led to more questions than answers. This article explores the mysteries of interstellar comets, the scientific field that has developed around them, and how understanding these objects can give us insight into the creation of our solar system.