INTERSTELLAR COMET MAY BE 12 BILLION YEARS OLD

Observations of comet 3I/Atlas suggest it could be nearly three times older than our solar system, according to research published in the journal Nature. The comet, which passed the sun last year, is only the third interstellar visitor humanity has detected. Scientists analysed measurements from the James Webb space telescope and the Alma observatory in Chile to determine the comet's chemical composition. Martin Cordiner of Nasa's Goddard Space Flight Centre stated the object "may be the oldest object to have been observed in our solar system", though he acknowledged other explanations for its unusual chemical composition remained possible.

The comet contains 10 times more deuterium, a form of hydrogen found in heavy water, than comets native to our solar system. According to astrochemistry principles, such high levels of heavy water form only in extremely cold environments, the study found. Isotopic evidence indicates the comet formed in conditions of minus 243 degrees Celsius. These findings reveal an elemental composition unlike any body previously documented in our solar system, according to the research.

The precise origin of comet 3I/Atlas within the Milky Way remains unknown. Scientists believe interstellar comets form through mechanisms similar to those that create solar system comets, typically ejected outward during the violent formation of planets. The discovery of comet 3I/Atlas in July of the previous year generated public interest, including speculation from some researchers about its origin that Nasa subsequently rejected.