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This Could Be the Oldest Object Ever Observed
Newser • • science
Key Points:
- The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which passed near the sun and Earth in 2025, may be up to 12 billion years old, making it nearly three times older than our solar system and close in age to the universe itself.
- Researchers using the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA observatory found the comet's water contains an extreme abundance of deuterium, indicating it formed in extremely cold conditions around -243°C.
- The comet's unique chemical composition suggests it originated during the Milky Way's "cosmic noon," a period of intense star formation about 10 billion years ago, making it possibly the oldest object observed in the solar system.
- 3I/ATLAS is only the third known interstellar visitor and is now leaving the solar system, but future discoveries of similar objects are expected with the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory.
- Studying interstellar comets like 3I/ATLAS is crucial for understanding how common the conditions for life are throughout the universe, according to researchers.
