Saturn Ejects Comet A117uUD into Interstellar Space

In 2024, scientists announced the significant discovery of comet A117uUD being ejected from our solar system after a close encounter with Saturn in 2022. The comet was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) on June 14, 2024, and its path was studied using 142 tracking observations. Saturn's strong gravity altered the comet's trajectory, sending it into an elongated orbit and eventually ejecting it from the solar system at a speed of about 10,800 km/h. This event marks the second documented instance of a comet being ejected by a planet's gravity, the first being Comet C/1980 E1 (Bowell) by Jupiter in 1980. The ejection of A117uUD provides valuable insights into gravitational effects on celestial objects and suggests that come