Webb Probes Ancient Origins of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
TL;DR Summary
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope used its NIRSpec instrument to map the chemical makeup of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it moved away from the Sun, finding unusually high deuterium (about 30x that of solar-system comets) and only traces of carbon-13, which together point to formation in a very cold, early galactic environment roughly 10–12 billion years ago during the universe’s cosmic noon; 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar visitor and the findings, published in Nature, shed light on the conditions for planet formation and potentially prebiotic chemistry beyond our solar system.
- NASA’s Webb Finds Clues to Ancient, Distant Origin of Comet 3I/ATLAS NASA Science (.gov)
- Interstellar comet may be oldest object seen in our solar system, scientists say The Guardian
- Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS is almost as old as the universe itself Scientific American
- Interstellar comet that zoomed past Earth could be oldest and coldest object ever seen in solar system, astronomers say CBS News
- The Chemistry of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Is Unlike Anything We've Ever Seen ScienceAlert
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