Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS May Be Oldest Comet Observed

Quick Summary

• Comet 3I/ATLAS, currently passing through the solar system, might potentially be one of the oldest comets ever observed.
• Discovered near Jupiter’s orbit this month, it is estimated to be 20 kilometers across and traveling at approximately 60 kilometers per second.
• It is the third identified interstellar object in our solar system and will pass close to Mars in October before departing from our sun’s vicinity.
• Researchers from Oxford University modeled its trajectory using data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft; they believe it comes from the thick disc region of our galaxy containing older stars.
• The originating star is estimated to be at least 8 billion years old,almost double the age of our sun,making this comet potentially as old or older than Earth itself.
• Unlike previous interstellar objects such as ‘Oumuamua (2017) and Comet Borisov (2019) stemming from younger stars in a region called the thin disc, thick disc objects tend to have faster velocities.
• Scientists speculate its high water content could result in significant water outgassing when nearing the sun-a rare opportunity to analyze pristine material billions of years old.

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Indian Opinion Analysis

The finding of comet 3I/ATLAS provides a unique scientific window into interstellar phenomena. Its origin near an ancient star raises intriguing questions about cosmic evolution and underscores India’s ongoing strides toward space exploration relevance. With missions like Chandrayaan successfully showcasing India’s capabilities in planetary observation, such discoveries reinforce global collaborative efforts critical for understanding universal mysteries beyond immediate national boundaries.

For India specifically-space research advancements guided by ISRO must increasingly leverage partnerships with international agencies like ESA-ensuring access not only theoretical-data cross-validation aiding Home experts teams evolutionary modeling yet pushing pragmatic policy proposals future Interplanetary Trade technologies