Comets Caught Speeding in Solar System Fast Lane

By Mike Howie

Researchers have discovered a potential fast lane for objects traveling through our solar system: a series of arches inside space manifolds that help celestial objects move substantially faster than is typical. They describe these expressways in their article, “The arches of chaos in the Solar System,” published in Science Advances.

Stretching from the asteroid belt to beyond Uranus, the routes can push comets and asteroids from Jupiter to Neptune — over 2 billion miles, or about 25 astronomical units — in less than 10 years. They can move an object 100 astronomical units in less than a century.

“Simply put, these highways are entirely produced by the planets,” said Aaron Rosengren of UC San Diego, one of the paper’s authors. “Asteroids, comets, etc., are candidates to travel along them, but do not produce their own ‘fast routes.’ Jupiter, being the most massive body in our planetary system, is responsible for most of the structures we’ve discovered, but each planet generates similar ‘arches’ and all of these structures can interact to produce quite complicated routes for transport.”

Speed Boost

The routes can be compared to the jet streams here on Earth, which pilots frequently use to fly long distances faster and more efficiently. Instead of using wind, however, the routes use gravity generated by the planets in our solar system.

Using gravity to help propel objects in space is not a new concept — both the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes used gravity assists from Jupiter on their journeys to the outer edges of the solar system. Gravity assists are even well known enough to make their way into a variety of science-fiction movies. But, as the researchers conclude, “their widespread influence on natural celestial bodies has been largely undervalued and unexplored.”

Crunching the Numbers

The researchers compared numerical data from millions of orbits in our solar system to known space manifolds to discover these structures. The structures themselves are incredibly complex, interacting differently as they follow the orbit of their parent planets. Describing them mathematically can be nearly impossible, but they can be visualized in two and three dimensions with powerful computers.

Further investigation will help researchers better understand how comets and asteroids move through our solar system, which in turn could help us monitor objects that could potentially collide with Earth.

It could also prove to be an important discovery for space exploration. If space agencies can successfully guide spacecraft along this newly discovered fast lane, they could reach distant planets and the outer regions of the solar system faster than ever before, accelerating mission timelines.