Scientists find ice comet older than the Sun that may be visible from Earth this year
The object, which is thought to be rich in ice, was first spotted on July 1, by the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile, when it was about 670 million km from the Sun. Oxford University astronomer Matthew Hopkins presented the exciting findings at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham last week.
His team discovered the comet by complete surprise, just before the astronomer was due to go on holiday. But instead of the 'quiet Wednesday' he had planned, him and his fellow researchers found what may be the oldest space object ever discovered.
"All non-interstellar comets such as Halley's comet formed with our solar system, so are up to 4.5 billion years old," Hopkins said.
Halley's Comet is a famous periodic comet that orbits the Sun and is visible from Earth approximately every 75-76 years. It was last seen in 1986 and is predicted to return in mid-2061, and is named after its discoverer Edmond Halley.
While Halley's comet is as old as our solar system, Hopkins believes 3I/ATLAS may be almost twice as ancient at seven billion years old.
The astronomer continued: "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."
Two objects from elsewhere in the cosmos have been discovered previously, but 3I/ATLAS is estimated to be far older and larger.
It is travelling on a steep path through the galaxy, and based on its trajectory, scientists believe it came from an area of the Milky Way called the 'thick disk'.
The thick disk, found in many spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way, is a population of ancient stars which orbit either above or below the thin plane where the Sun and most other stars live.
This recently discovered comet is estimated to be rich in water ice due to the fact it was formed around an old, thick-disk star.
As the space object nears the Sun it will heat up, triggering vapour and dust that will give it a glowing tail as it shoots through space.
Experts say that the ice comet may be visible through a standard telescope later this year, or in early 2026, so keen amateur astronomers should keep an eye out.
"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."
The team's findings come from applying a model developed during Hopkins' doctoral research, which simulates the properties of interstellar objects based on their orbits and likely stellar origins.
This research model, dubbed the Ōtautahi-Oxford Model, marks the first real-time application of predictive modelling to an interstellar comet.
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Daily Record
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Scientists find ice comet older than the Sun that may be visible from Earth this year
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