Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reveals outer-disk isotopic fingerprints

TL;DR Summary
Astronomers measuring CN isotopologues in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS find unusually high 12C/13C (~151) and 14N/15N (~363) ratios, higher than Solar System comets and closer to interstellar/outer-disk values, implying 3I formed in the outer disk around an old, low-metallicity star and offering rare clues about planetesimal formation under different stellar environments.
- High nitrogen and carbon isotopic ratios in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS Nature
- Comet may be 12bn-year-old relic from distant star system The Times
- Breakthrough at comet 3I/ATLAS. Scientists say they can pin down what the interstellar comet's birthplace was like BBC Sky at Night Magazine
- More clues surface about the origins of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS Space
- Comet 3I/ATLAS is older than the sun Popular Science
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