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EU Nations Want Reduced Protection for Bears
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia /Health & Science

EU Nations Want Reduced Protection for Bears

From Asharq Al-Awsat · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Documents & data Context piece
  • An interstellar comet, 3I/ATLAS, may be nearly three times older than our Solar System.
  • Its unique chemical composition, studied by the James Webb Space Telescope, differs significantly from Solar System bodies.
  • Scientists speculate it could be a relic from the galaxy's early formation period, known as 'cosmic noon'.

An interstellar comet, designated 3I/ATLAS, that recently passed the Sun might be significantly older than our Solar System, potentially dating back up to 12 million years. This discovery, based on analysis of its chemical isotopes, offers a rare glimpse into the composition of objects originating from beyond our galactic neighborhood.

Maybe it's the oldest object to have been observed in our Solar System.

— Martin CordinerLead study author from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, discussing the potential age of the comet.

Observations using powerful telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope and the ALMA observatory, revealed that 3I/ATLAS possesses an elemental composition unlike any known body within our Solar System. Notably, it contains about 10 times more deuterium, a form of hydrogen found in heavy water, than typical comets originating from our solar system. This suggests it formed in an extremely cold environment, estimated to be around minus 243 degrees Celsius.

Scientists theorize that 3I/ATLAS could be a relic from an early epoch in the Milky Way's history, possibly from a period known as "cosmic noon," approximately 10 billion years ago, when star formation was at its peak. The comet's journey through the galaxy likely spanned billions of years, untethered to any star system.

That high abundance of heavy water can only really happen, according to our understanding of astrochemistry, in a very cold environment.

— Martin CordinerExplaining the implications of the comet's deuterium levels.

While previous interstellar visitors like 'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov were observed, they were not bright enough for detailed isotopic analysis. The unusual brightness of 3I/ATLAS has provided an unprecedented opportunity to study the building blocks of planetary systems forming in other parts of the galaxy. The exact origin remains a mystery, but its formation process is thought to be similar to that of comets within our own Solar System, ejected during the violent birth of planets.

Relic from 'cosmic noon'?

— Study section titleSuggesting a possible origin period for the comet.
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Originally published by Asharq Al-Awsat. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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