NASA’s Webb Telescope unlocks first-ever secrets of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has for the very first time observed a mysterious interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS by using the James Webb Space Telescope.

The space telescope trained its infrared vision and its Near-infrared Spectrograph instrument (NIRspec) on the interstellar comet on August 6.

The enigmatic object was discovered on July 1 by the ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) telescope. 3I/ATLAS is the third object found hurling towards our solar system. The other two included 1I/'Oumuamua, discovered in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, detected in 2019.

Since its first detection, several theories have been making rounds to discuss its origin and nature. According to Harvard professor Avi Loeb it is an alien probe, nuclear-powered, releasing its own energy.

NASA’s recent study aims to explore the characteristics of 3I/ATLAS, including its size, chemical makeup and physical properties.

In terms of composition, JWST’s NIRSpec instrument detected several compounds in the comet’s coma, including CO2, water ice, carbon monoxide, water, and carbonyl sulfide. According to scientists, the close proximity of 3I/ATLAS near the Sun causes outgassing, turning frozen materials into gas.

The most significant finding was the highest ratio of CO2 to water in the interstellar comet, paving the way to explore more options about the origin of 3I/ATLAS.

The presence of high carbon dioxide could be due to the comet's core which is inherently rich in gas. According to another hypothesis, the comet formed at a specific site called “carbon dioxide ice line” within the cloud of matter.

The low ratio of water abundance also suggests the existence of something that prevents heat from reaching its icy core.

Previous study findings suggest the age of the comet is around 7 billion, making it the oldest known comet. 

Moreover, the steep trajectory of the comet demonstrates that it originated from the Milky Way’s thick disk, a region that is older than the thin disk which is a place of sun formation.