As for the inner planets, the dust that hints at their existence ironically might keep us from spotting them. Eta Corvi’s giant outer cloud is a much more effective veil than the dust surrounding our inner solar system, where material dropped by comets displays itself on Earth as zodiacal light. This has led researchers to conclude that the Eta Corvi system is not a good target for missions hoping to image an exo-Earth.
Either way, Wyatt and his colleagues want to re-observe the system. If the clump they spotted in the inner disk is orbiting the star, they should see it move with time. The researchers also hope to confirm the system’s cometary fingerprints with further observations. “We should be able to map the carbon monoxide distribution,” Wyatt says. “That will tell us more about what’s going on.”
At the same time, the recent arrival of an exocomet in our own solar system could help decode the mysteries of Eta Corvi. At the time of this writing, Comet 2I/Borisov, discovered in August 2019, is currently breaking up. By studying its spilled guts, astronomers hope to probe the object’s composition to learn how comets in other star systems compare to our own.
“This kind of comet visiting us could have formed in a system like Eta Corvi,” Marino says. But instead of colliding with another comet or planet, Borisov was ejected. This, he adds, “will tell us about comets that are farther out.”
Rebollido is also excited to see the interstellar interloper pass through our solar system. “It’s the proof that cometlike bodies are being formed [in other systems],” she says. “I’m curious about the composition — and, specifically, whether it’s similar to our solar system comets or not.”
Researchers might also better understand our solar system’s own past by continuing to study the Eta Corvi system. But with its unique pair of disks, Eta Corvi clearly has something special going on.
Regardless, this single young system rich in cometary material may reveal a lot about how our solar system and others formed and evolved over time. According to Marino, “Eta Corvi is kind of the tip of the iceberg.”