Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is bursting with methanol
Astronomers using the ALMA telescope have discovered that the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS contains unusually high levels of methanol. This chemical composition provides a unique fingerprint that helps scientists understand how icy bodies form in planetary systems outside our own.
Why it matters
Analyzing the chemical makeup of interstellar objects offers rare insights into the formation of planetary systems beyond our solar system.
Comet 3I/ATLAS is continuing to surprise astronomers. New observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) is a partner, show that the interstellar visitor contains an unusually large amount of methanol. In fact, its methanol abundance exceeds that seen in almost all known comets from our own solar system.
"Observing 3I/ATLAS is like taking a fingerprint from another solar system," shares Nathan Roth, lead author on this research, and a professor with American University, "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."
A Chemical Fingerprint From Another Solar System
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