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Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Carries Fossil Clues From a Distant Disk

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Source: Space
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Carries Fossil Clues From a Distant Disk
Photo: Space
TL;DR

New isotope measurements from JWST and the VLT corroborate that interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS formed billions of years ago far from its parent star, likely in the outer regions of a protoplanetary disk (akin to a Kuiper belt) and was later ejected into interstellar space. Its carbon-12 to carbon-13 and nitrogen-14 to nitrogen-15 ratios differ markedly from solar-system comets, suggesting a birth environment and chemistry unlike our own. The findings were published in Nature Astronomy.

Topics:sciencespace#3iatlas#interstellar#isotopes#jwst#space#vlt
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  1. More clues surface about the origins of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS  Space
  2. High nitrogen and carbon isotopic ratios in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS  Nature
  3. Older than the Sun: Astronomers find new clues to the origin of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS  ESO.org
  4. Comet may be 12bn-year-old relic from distant star system  The Times
  5. Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Likely Originated in Outskirts of Ancient Planetary System  Sci.News

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