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I added a comment to Could 3I/ATLAS be a fragment from a collision involving a TNO and an interstellar object?.

Suppose events happened as you are supposing, except that this was long ago around another star. The object was ejected, and is now arriving at our solar system. Would there be a way to tell?

It discouraged the OP so much that he deleted the post. This was not my intent. The post had an interesting thought. In fact, there might be ways to tell if he is right. Off the top of my head:

  • We know where 3I/ATLAS has been. If a collision happened in our solar system, there might be other fragments flying away from points along the trajectory. They might be visible in telescopes.

  • 3I/ATLAS is traveling fast. How likely is it that a collision in our solar system would result in an orbit like this?

  • He is supposing that volatile compounds resulting from a recent collision are boiling off as 3I/ATLAS gets near the Sun. Would there be a difference in what compounds we would see from a long ago collision?

How do I tell him this? I voted to undelete. That appears to be all I can do.

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    $\begingroup$ I left a comment on their question for you, pointing them this way so they can see this post. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 23 at 9:20
  • $\begingroup$ In such case it would be better if you asked a new question, preferably on astronomy.se. Unless astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/61364/… astronomy.stackexchange.com/questions/61359/… clarify this $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 23 at 23:56
  • $\begingroup$ It was not my question. If Alfredo Maranca should see this, it would be reasonable for him to either undelete his original question or to ask a new one on the astronomy site. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 24 at 1:22
  • $\begingroup$ @mmesser314 In view of your post I voted to undelete. Perhaps someone else seeing your meta post will also vote to undelete. $\endgroup$ Commented 2 days ago

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