This image of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS was taken at the Gemini South Observatory, situated in Chile, this past July.(Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the ScientistImage Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab))
According to a fresh study, the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS commenced emitting water “like a fire hose” well before its arrival anywhere proximate to the sun.
Researchers detected the comet diffusing water exceptionally early in an unveiling that casts insight on the distribution of life’s fundamental components throughout other solar systems.
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“Upon sensing water — or even its subtle ultraviolet reverberation, OH — originating from an interstellar comet, we’re interpreting a correspondence from another planetary arrangement,” study co-author Dennis Bodewits, a physics professor at Auburn University in Alabama, expressed in a declaration. “It informs us that the elements for life’s biochemistry aren’t limited to our own.”
NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift space observatory picked up hydroxyl (OH) gas, a water-related ultraviolet consequence, emanating from the comet while it existed almost three times further from the sun than Earth (2.9 astronomical units distant), considerably further away than the vicinity of our solar system wherein water ice generally transitions to gas on passing comets.
Researchers determined that the comet was discharging approximately 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of water each second, which is nearly equivalent to a fire hose running at its uppermost level, as per the announcement issued by the researchers.
From its discovery in July, scientists have employed an array of telescopes in order to discern all conceivable facts regarding 3I/ATLAS. Their discoveries up until this point suggest that the comet is hurtling across our solar system at velocities surpassing 130,000 mph (210,000 km/h) within an unusually uniform and uncurved path.
3I/ATLAS is possibly the most substantial interstellar entity ever witnessed, although researchers are still ascertaining its precise proportions. Hubble Space Telescope statistics propose that 3I/ATLAS maintains a maximum breadth of roughly 3.5 miles (5.6 km). 3I/ATLAS could further represent the most ancient comet ever detected, with a certain study implying that it is approximately 3 billion years more seasoned than our 4.6 billion-year-old solar system.
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For the current study, researchers leveraged observations acquired utilizing the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory’s ultraviolet and optical telescope during July and August. The researchers speculated that the ultraviolet hydroxyl signal might derive from solar radiation heating minor icy fragments on the nucleus (core) of the comet, prompting them to sublimate into gas.
3I/ATLAS constitutes solely the third interstellar comet ever documented, subsequent to the detection of the cigar-shaped 1I/’Oumuamua comet during 2017 and the pristine 2I/Borisov comet during 2019. To date, each interstellar arrival has displayed somewhat contrasting attributes, implying that an assortment of comet and planet-building settings might prevail across the universe.
“Each interstellar comet thus far has proven surprising,” study primary author Zexi Xing, a postdoctoral investigator at Auburn University, communicated in the declaration. “Oumuamua presented as arid, Borisov held an abundance of carbon monoxide, and now ATLAS is giving off water at a distance where such a phenomenon was unanticipated. Each arrival is reshaping what we presumed to comprehend regarding the formation of planets and comets surrounding stars.”
TOPICSNASA
Patrick PesterSocial Links NavigationTrending News Writer
Patrick Pester functions as the trending news writer at Live Science. His contributions have been featured across other scientific platforms, for example, BBC Science Focus and Scientific American. Patrick retrained to become a journalist post spending his earlier years dedicated to zoos and preservation of wildlife. He obtained the Master’s Excellence Scholarship for studies at Cardiff University where he concluded a master’s qualification in global journalism. Further, he holds a second master’s qualification pertaining to biodiversity, evolution, and proactive conservation efforts, awarded by Middlesex University London. During his downtime from composing news pieces, Patrick probes the trading of human remains.
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