| [00:00:00.00] | [Music throughout] [Hubble Space Telescope images] |
| [00:00:04.00] | 2I/Borisov is the first active interstellar comet scientists have seen. |
| [00:00:12.00] | |
| [00:00:14.00] | As the comet approached the Sun, it shed millions of gallons of water. [Swift images] |
| [00:00:19.00] | NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory measured how much. |
| [00:00:24.00] | |
| [00:00:27.00] | Swift made several observations during the comet’s first and only trip through the solar system. |
| [00:00:35.00] | |
| [00:00:39.00] | [Illustration] [Approximately 0.5 miles across, 0.74km] |
| [00:00:43.00] | It detected the signal of both water and dust given off by the small comet. |
| [00:00:49.00] | As Borisov neared the Sun, its water production rose similarly to solar system comets. |
| [00:00:57.00] | |
| [00:00:59.00] | When it was closest to the Sun, the comet lost enough water to fill a bathtub in about 10 seconds. |
| [00:01:06.00] | |
| [00:01:11.00] | At that point, at least 55% of the surface was releasing water, which is about 10 times more than solar system comets. |
| [00:01:19.00] | [Graph of water loss] |
| [00:01:22.00] | As Borisov moved away from the Sun, its water production rate fell off faster than any other comet yet observed. |
| [00:01:30.00] | |
| [00:01:32.00] | During its trip, Borisov lost a total of around 60 million gallons of water. |
| [00:01:39.00] | |
| [00:01:42.00] | Swift measurements show that material coming off of Borisov is similar to solar system comets. |
| [00:01:49.00] | |
| [00:01:53.00] | Thanks to Swift, astronomers have measured the water production of a comet from a planetary system beyond our own. |
| [00:02:01.00] | |
| [00:02:06.00] | [Explore: Solar system and beyond] |
| [00:02:11.82] | [NASA] |