"The first paper, submitted for review at Nature Astronomy, analyzed near-infrared spectroscopy data of 3I/ATLAS recorded by the James Webb Space Telescope. The team found an 'unexpectedly high' deuterium to hydrogen ratio in methane molecules shed by the object, indicating an 'exceedingly rare detection of deuterated organic molecules in an interstellar object.'"
"The unusual abundance of deuterium could be the 'natural consequence of formation' in an extremely cold environment, such as the proto-planetary disk surrounding its potential."
Deuterium, a stable hydrogen isotope, is abundant in the universe and can initiate nuclear fusion with tritium. Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb is intrigued by findings that interstellar object 3I/ATLAS contains high levels of deuterium. Two recent papers suggest this abundance may result from natural processes over billions of years, challenging the idea that 3I/ATLAS is alien technology. An international research team analyzed data from the James Webb Space Telescope, noting an unexpected deuterium to hydrogen ratio in methane molecules from the object, indicating a rare detection of deuterated organic molecules.
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