Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS reveals methane in unprecedented data from the James Webb telescope

The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS continues its trajectory out of the solar system after revealing unprecedented data about its chemical composition. Observações performed by Telescópio Espacial James Webb and NASA’s SPHEREx mission confirmed the presence of methane, water and complex organic molecules in the celestial object. The body is the third visitor detected by modern astronomy from outside our system. Pesquisadores of Caltech published detailed results in The Astrophysical Journal Letters magazine this week.

Analysis indicates that the object traveled through the galaxy for at least a billion years before passing through Earth’s neighborhood. Durante approach, which reached its closest point to Sol in October 2025, the comet demonstrated unique behavior as it began to release internal gases. The phenomenon allowed scientists to observe not only the surface hit by cosmic rays, but the original material preserved since its formation in another star system.

Detecção of methane after solar core heating

The discovery of methane occurred at a specific moment in the trajectory of 3I/ATLAS, when it was already moving away from Sol in December 2025. Inicialmente, the comet’s outer crust, punished by billions of years of space radiation, showed few signs of volatile gases. With the increase in internal temperature caused by the solar approach, the deep layers of ice began to melt and sublimate.

The outgassing process revealed that the methane was stored beneath the surface, protected from galactic irradiation. Essa observation is considered a milestone as it offers clues about the object’s originating environment. The abundance and proportion of chemical compounds in interstellar comets act as a “fingerprint” of the thermal and chemical conditions of other distant planetary systems.

Interstellar Cometa shines brighter than previous visitors

Diferentemente from its predecessors, 1I/Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, 3I/ATLAS stood out for the intensity of its brightness and cometary activity. Enquanto Oumuamua did not exhibit the characteristic dust and gas tail, the new visitor allowed the use of advanced infrared instrumentation. The team led by Matthew Belyakov used James Webb to map signals at wavelengths ten times longer than human vision can reach.

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Data collected by the SPHEREx mission and JWST cataloged the following components in the comet’s coma:

• Partículas of rocky dust rich in minerals.
• Vapor of water released by internal defrosting.
• Dióxido of carbon in a gaseous state.
• Metano and several complex organic molecules.

Objeto more than a kilometer wide leaves the solar system

With dimensions estimated at more than a thousand meters in diameter, 3I/ATLAS has already crossed the orbit of Júpiter on its farewell path. The high speed ensures that the celestial body never returns to the gravitational influence of Sol. Para the scientific community, the brief observation period was a rare opportunity to study a “planetesimal” — a planetary building block — coming from a remote region of Via Láctea.

Estudar These fragments help understand how Terra and other planets formed from rock and ice billions of years ago. Como 3I/ATLAS has a chemistry distinct from objects born in our solar system, it functions as a mobile comparative astrophysics laboratory. Monitoring will continue as long as the comet’s thermal signals are detectable by long-range instruments.