James Webb Space Telescope’s first observation of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reveals something strange
Astronomers found something strange in the first images of James Webb Space Telescope of the interstellar comet 3i / Atlas As was rushed towards our sun, according to a new study.
The initial observations of the telescope suggest that the 3i / Atlas has one of the highest carbon dioxide (CO2) reports ever recorded in a comet. This unusual chemistry, if confirmed, could shed light on the mysterious origins of 3i / atlas beyond our solar system.
Scientists have used various telescopes to learn everything they can on 3i / Atlas Since his discovery in July. The extremely rare comet is only the third confirmed interstellar object ever recorded, and researchers are eager to study its makeup before the intruder passes beyond our sun in October and leaves the solar system for good.
The first James Webb space telescope (JWST) Observations took place on August 6, researchers using JWST Specrograph near infrared To decipher the physical properties of the comet as a function of the light she emits. They reported their results on Monday, August 25 in a prior newspaper published on the European Research Support ZenodoThey have therefore not yet been evaluated by peers.
Comets develop an atmosphere, or comaAs they fly by stars. This cloud of gas and dust becomes larger and more brilliant, the more a comet is closer to a star, with ice and other materials on the heated comet and releasing gas in a process called disgusting. JWST imaging revealed that 3i / Atlas coma was dominated by carbon dioxide, according to the study.
The researchers noted that the high carbon dioxide content could be linked to exposure to the influence or the formation of the comet in relation to the distance to which CO2 frozen (the CO2 ice line) around its parent protoplanetary disk – The gas and the swirling dust that surrounds young stars and planets, comets and asteroids are born.
“Our observations are compatible with a CO2 -rich nucleus, which may indicate that 3i / Atlas contains ICE exposed to higher radiation levels than comets of the solar system, or that it formed near the CO2 ice line in its” Parent “” Parent “”, wrote the researchers in the study.
In relation: Interstellar Comet 3i / Atlas is transformed into a giant “ Cosmic rainbow in a new image of Tripppy telescope
Astronomers learn more on 3i / atlas at each new observation. So far, their results indicate that the comet whistles at speeds greater than 130,000 MPH (210,000 km / h) Flat and straight trajectory It looks like nothing else in the solar system.
The initial size estimates put the comet about 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide. However, subsequent data in the Hubble space telescope have suggested that 3i / Atlas is probably closer to a maximum of 3.5 miles (5.6 km) in diameter. Anyway, it’s probably the The largest interstellar object never seen. 3i / Atlas could also be the The oldest comet ever seenWith a study suggesting that it is about 3 billion years more than our child of 4.6 billion solar system. We do not currently know where the comet comes from.
It did not prevent some from speculating. Last month, a controversial preliminary study explored the idea that 3i / Atlas could be a piece of “Perhaps hostile” extraterrestrial technology in disguise. However, experts told Live Science that study affirmations were “absurdities” and “insults”.
The speed of the comet, which has the highest speed ever recorded for a visitor to the solar system, is proof that 3i / Atlas has been in motion for billions of years, winning the momentum from a gravitational sling effect because it whips the stars and NebulaAccording to a NASA declaration Released earlier this month after the observations of the Hubble space telescope.
“No one knows where the comet comes from,” David JewittAn astronomer at the UCLA and the scientific team leader for Hubble’s observations, said in the press release. “It’s like eating a rifle ball for a thousandth of a second. You can’t project this with precision to determine where he started on his way.”
