NASA James Webb Space Telescope observes interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
This kind of observation can help make clear what conditions were like in the systems where comets like 3I/ATLAS was formed.
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NASA observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS through the lens of the James Webb Space Telescope for the first time. (Photo Credit: Aaron M. Sprecher/UPI | License Photo)
Aug. 27 (UPI) -- NASA observed interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS through the lens of the James Webb Space Telescope for the first time.
On Aug. 6, the telescope with its near-infrared Spectrograph instrument analyzed the comet as it provided more information about its size, physical properties, and chemical makeup.
This kind of observation can help make clear what conditions were like in the systems where comets like 3I/ATLAS was formed.
3I/ATLAS is outgassing as it approaches the sun, which was speculated that it would.
Astronomers identified it as made of carbon dioxide, water, water ice, carbon monoxide, and the smell gas carbon sulfide.
The comet has the highest ratio of carbon dioxide to water ever observed in a comet, which implies that the comet contains ices that were exposed to much higher levels of radiation.
The team also suggested the comet could have been formed in a "carbon dioxide ice line. Additionally, the comet could also be around 7 billion years old, a previous discovery found.
The comet was first discovered on July 1st by NASA's Asteroid Terrestrial impact Alert system.
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