A perplexing phenomenon has caught the attention of scientists as an unidentified objectis racing through space at an astonishing speed of approximately 1.6 million kilometers per hour (1 million miles per hour). The object, designated as CWISE J1249, has left experts baffled as they attempt to determine its origin and nature. Situated around 400 light years away from Earth, this enigmatic entity holds a size of about 30,000 times that of our planet and accounts for 8 percent of the Sun's mass, making it an anomaly that lies somewhere between a star and a planet.

According to Dr. Darren Baskill, an astronomy lecturer at the University of Sussex, the remarkable size of J1249 distinguishes it from being a probe. Typically, stars moving at such a high velocity are a rarity, with only one or two among a thousand displaying similar swiftness. If J1249 continues its current trajectory, it is projected to exit the confines of our Milky Way galaxy within a few ten million years, a fleeting moment given the astronomical lifespan of stars that could endure for billions of years.

Although the object is advancing at a mere 0.001 percent of the speed of light, its velocity suggests the possibility of it escaping the gravitational pull of our galaxy and venturing into intergalactic space. Drawing a comparative analogy, Dr. Baskill highlights that J1249 is propelled about 2.6 times faster than the fastest space probe ever launched, which reached its maximum velocity when it looped around the Sun in June 2024.

The astounding discovery of this rapidly moving entity was made by citizen scientists contributing their time toNASA's Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project. These volunteers scoured through vast amounts of online images gathered from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WISE) and NEOWISE missions, aiming to identify intriguing phenomena. Out of these dedicated volunteers, Martin Kabatnik, Thomas P Bickle, and Dan Caselden were the first to observe the faint, swift object traversing the WISE images, triggering a surge of excitement amongst the team.

New research led by scientists at the University of California, San Diego sheds further light on the characteristics of J1249. This study, set to be published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, utilizes ground-based telescopes to confirm and examine the object. Preliminary findings suggest that J1249 may be a low-mass star or a brown dwarf, which is a star larger than a planet but lacks the mass to sustain nuclear fusion in its core. Interestingly, the object exhibits a peculiar composition, featuring significantly lower levels of iron and other metals compared to stars and brown dwarfs. NASA indicates that this distinct composition could indicate that J1249 is one of the earliest stars ever observed in our galaxy.

Scientists speculate the high velocity of the mysterious object may be attributable to the remnants of a binary system gone awry. It is postulated that its companion, a white dwarf, met its end in a supernova explosion after siphoning excessive material from J1249. Another hypothesis suggests that J1249 originated from a cluster of stars, which scattered rapidly after encountering a pair of black holes.

Dr. Baskill explains that one possible explanation for such immense speeds is the object falling towards an entity and missing it, resulting in a gravitational slingshot effect that propels it to extraordinary velocities. This technique is comparable to how space probes are accelerated to explore the solar system up-close over reasonable timeframes. In the case of J1249, it is postulated that the star originated from the densely populated center of our galaxy, where it fell towards and narrowly bypassed a neighboring star, acquiring immense speed in the process.

The discovery of the enigmatic CWISE J1249 has captivated the scientific community, raising numerous questions about its origins and peculiar composition. As experts eagerly await the completion of the study and its peer review, the quest to unravel the mysteries behind this celestial phenomenon continues, offering invaluable insights into the intricacies of our vast universe.