Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS likely comes from Milky Way's thin disk
Scientists have figured out that interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS probably came from the Milky Way's thin disk—the same region where most nearby stars (like our Sun) hang out.
This challenges old ideas that it originated in the thick disk, which is packed with much older stars.
Researchers compared 3I/ATLAS's path with millions of stars and found its speed matches those in the thin disk, not the thick one.
Comet will swing closest to the Sun in October 2025
3I/ATLAS has way more carbon dioxide compared to water than comets we usually see, hinting it formed somewhere with lots of radiation—unlike our solar system.
The comet will swing closest to the Sun near Mars in late October 2025.
Recent observations using Gemini South and NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have already revealed new details about this visitor, and further study could help us understand what other star systems are like.