12 Billion Years Old, This Interstellar Comet Is Older than Our Solar System
6 Articles
6 Articles
A Rare Comet Made History as the Third Known Interstellar Object to Fly Through Our Solar System. Studies Are Now Revealing the Mysterious Conditions in Which It Formed
In the latest research, telescope observations of 3I/ATLAS examine its chemical structure and suggest that it took shape in a peripheral region of a relatively calm planetary system
The most recent interstellar visitor discovered in our solar system was born in a place in the universe that does not resemble our home at all and, according to a new study, in a period long before the formation of the solar system - in the early period of the cosmos, according to American Scientific.
Nearly a year after its discovery, a new analysis of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is adding to our knowledge of the object, while also challenging what we know not only about comets but also about other planetary systems. Now, scientists say the comet may be much older and formed in a more extreme environment than previously thought.
12 billion years old, this interstellar comet is older than our solar system
One year ago, on July 1, 2025, astronomers discovered a fascinating new object moving through the solar system. Detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), the object was quickly recognized as something special.
12 billion years old interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may be older than the solar system
3I/ATLAS arrived fast, bright, and strange. When astronomers spotted it on July 1, 2025, they knew almost immediately this was no ordinary comet. It was moving too quickly to belong here, and that speed hinted that the object carried a story older than the solar system itself. Now that story has sharpened. In a paper published in Nature, a team led by Martin Cordiner of Goddard Space Flight Center – NASA reports that 3I/ATLAS carries an isotopic…
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