Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS formed in an extremely cold planetary system
Updated
Updated · CNN · May 1
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS formed in an extremely cold planetary system
15 articles · Updated · CNN · May 1
ALMA observations in Chile detected deuterium in 3I/ATLAS for the first time in any interstellar object, at more than 40 times Earth-ocean levels.
Researchers said the comet formed at under 30 Kelvin in the outer reaches of a protoplanetary disk, consistent with earlier evidence of unusually high carbon dioxide.
Only the third interstellar object seen crossing the solar system, 3I/ATLAS may be up to 11 billion years old and could help trace how the Milky Way's planet-forming material changed over time.
If more interstellar objects like 3I/ATLAS are found, could they reveal that our solar system's formation was the exception, not the rule?
Could the extraordinary deuterium found in 3I/ATLAS rewrite what we know about water's origins in the galaxy?