Scientists have discovered Comet A117uUD, which is on a trajectory out of the solar system after a close encounter with Saturn in 2022.

The comet, identified on June 14, 2024, by ATLAS, was tracked through 142 observations, revealing its altered, elliptical orbit.

It is now traveling at approximately 6,710 miles per hour (10,800 km/h) and will exit the solar system, becoming only the second observed comet being ejected after a planetary encounter, Space.com has reported.

The first was Comet C/1980 E1 (Bowell), ejected by Jupiter in 1980. This finding suggests that such ejection events may be relatively common.

Written by B.C. Begley