tech
Age of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS passing through the Solar System is 12 billion years
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which passed by the Sun last year, may be almost three times older than the Solar System – its age is estimated at 12 billion years. This is stated in a study published in the journal Nature.
TL;DR
- Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may be 12 billion years old, significantly older than the Solar System.
- Its high deuterium content indicates formation in a very cold environment.
- The comet is one of the oldest and coldest objects observed in the Solar System.
- Scientists are actively seeking more interstellar objects, aided by new observatories.
- Previous theories suggesting the comet might be an alien spacecraft have been dismissed by NASA and SETI.