"Observing 3I/ATLAS is like taking a fingerprint from another solar system. The details reveal what it's made of, and it's bursting with methanol in a way we just don't usually see in comets in our own solar system."
"An international team of researchers including NASA scientists examined observations of the object made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) between August and October, the months leading up to its closest pass of the Sun, or perihelion. That's the point when comets, including 3I/ATLAS, become most active and release the most gas and dust as they're heated up by solar radiation."
3I/ATLAS, the third interstellar object spotted passing through our solar system, made its closest approach to the Sun in fall and is expected to encounter Jupiter before leaving. An international research team analyzed observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) between August and October, during the comet's most active period near perihelion. The analysis revealed that 3I/ATLAS contains an exceptionally large amount of methanol, exceeding nearly all known comets in our solar system. This discovery provides a unique fingerprint of another solar system's composition, offering valuable data about interstellar objects and their chemical makeup.
#interstellar-objects #comet-composition #methanol-detection #alma-observations #solar-system-visitors
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