Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may be 12 billion years old
Technology
Say hello to 3I/ATLAS, a comet from outside our solar system that might be nearly as old as the Milky Way itself, up to 12 billion years!
Discovered in 2025, it is racing through space at 58km per second and likely formed when our galaxy was just starting out.
JWST finds rare isotopes on 3I/ATLAS
Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope found that 3I/ATLAS has a rare chemical signature: a low carbon-13 to carbon-12 ratio and water loaded with deuterium.
These clues suggest it was born in some of the coldest, earliest interstellar clouds, making it one of the oldest cosmic travelers we have ever studied.
Its ancient makeup is helping researchers piece together how planets and systems formed way back in galactic history.