Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS ‘stuffed with booze’ in baffling area discovery
Need to know
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, the mysterious object dubbed an ‘alien spaceship’ by some, has been found to contain astonishing levels of methanol alcohol by scientists using the ALMA telescope
Comet 3I/ATLAS streaks across a dense star field(Image: NSF NOIRLab/Int.Gemini Ob et al. / SWNS)
Everything you need to know
- Scientists are baffled by the mysterious interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is packed with an astonishing amount of alcohol.
- A new study has revealed that the cosmic visitor is “heavily enriched in methanol”. Using the ALMA telescope in Chile, researchers found the comet contains up to four times more methanol than typical comets from our solar system.
- According to the study, 3I/ATLAS is the “second most methanol-rich comet ever measured”. Scientists also detected unusually high levels of other organic compounds, including carbon dioxide, iron, and nitrogen.
- This strange chemical cocktail suggests the comet formed in a much colder or more chemically unique environment than anything in our solar system. Researchers believe 3I/ATLAS could be a rare “hyperactive comet” that spews out more water vapour than its surface area should allow.
- The researchers reckon that “a significant fraction of methanol came from detached ices that sublimated during the comet’s approach to the sun”. Despite the excitement, scientists say this “natural, extremely cold, and chemically complex object” is definitely not the work of aliens.
- The comet is now speeding away from our solar system at a whopping 60 kilometres per second, making it only the third confirmed interstellar object ever spotted.
READ THE FULL STORY: Mystery ‘alien spaceship’ 3I/ATLAS is ‘full of booze’ as scientists make baffling discovery
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