Interstellar Object Could Be Oldest Comet Ever Seen, Scientists Say
An object that appears to be passing through the solar system could be the oldest comet ever seen — and even older than the solar system itself — according to scientists speaking today at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham, U.K.
Detected at the end of June and thought to be around 12 miles (20 kilometers) in diameter, the eccentric trajectory of 3I/ATLAS suggests that it's from outside the solar system.
Do interstellar comets seed stars and planet formation across the galaxy? With early observations hinting that 3I/ATLAS is an active comet, astronomers could be about to find out.
Interstellar Object: What Is 3I/ATLAS?
3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object ever to be found, after 'Oumuamua in 2017 and a comet called 2I/Borisov in 2019. Observations of 3I/ATLAS so far have revealed a tail and a nucleus, suggesting that it's its comet. However, astronomers now think that it could be the oldest comet ever seen. It could even be three billion years older than the solar system.
'All non-interstellar comets, such as Halley's comet, formed with our solar system, so are up to 4.5 billion years old,' said Matthew Hopkins, an astronomer at the University of Oxford. 'But interstellar visitors have the potential to be far older, and of those known about so far, our statistical method suggests that 3I/ATLAS is very likely to be the oldest comet we have ever seen.'
His calculations suggest that there's a 68% probability that 3I/ATLAS is 7.6-14 billion years old.
Interstellar Object: Where Does 3I/ATLAS Come From?
'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov continue to intrigue astronomers, but 3I/ATLAS may be the most remarkable interstellar visitor yet. Not only is it much larger and brighter, but its steep path through the galaxy suggests that it originated from the Milky Way's 'thick disk,' a region of the galaxy where ancient stars reside. If 3I/ATLAS did form around an old, thick-disk star, it should be rich in water ice, according to Hopkins.
'This is an object from a part of the galaxy we've never seen up close before,' said Professor Chris Lintott, co-author of the study and presenter of the BBC's The Sky at Night. 'We think there's a two-thirds chance this comet is older than the solar system and that it's been drifting through interstellar space ever since.'
Interstellar Object: What Will Happen To 3I/ATLAS?
3I/ATLAS will reach its perihelion — the closest it will get to the sun — in October but will only get about as half as close to the sun as Earth is. At its closest point to the sun, it will be traveling at around 42 miles (68 kilometers) per second/second or about 152,000 miles (245,000 kilometers) per hour.
As it nears its closest point to the sun, sunlight will heat 3I/ATLAS's surface and cause it to release vapor and gas, creating the tell-tale glowing coma and tail that will confirm that it's a comet. According to the latest observations, that could already be occurring.
'We're in an exciting time: 3I is already showing signs of activity. The gases that may be seen in the future as 3I is heated by the sun will test our model,' said co-author Dr Michele Bannister of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. 'Some of the biggest telescopes in the world are already observing this new interstellar object – one of them may be able to find out!'
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.
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