Researchers recorded changes in the chemical composition of comet 3I/Atlas, months after its passage through the Solar System. The revelation was made from data collected by the Subaru Telescope, a tool from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, indicating a progressive change in the object after its approach to the Sun.
The optical equipment made observations of the comet shortly after it passed through perihelion, the point of closest proximity to the Sun, on January 7. The analyzes made it possible to identify the tones present in the gas cloud that surrounds 3I/Atlas, known as the coma, and thus define its chemical elements.
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The research was conducted by Yoshiharu Shinnaka, professor at Kyoto Sangyo University, in Japan. The findings were approved to be published in The Astronomical Journal, but so far they are available in pre-publication format on arXiv.
How the analysis of comet 3I/Atlas occurred
As a celestial body of extrasolar origin, 3I/Atlas has been the target of intense investigation. In the Japanese study, analytical procedures and information from other research were used. In this way, it was feasible to calculate the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) and water present in the coma, which elucidates the chemical reactions of the sample and signals physical transformations in its core.
Measurements carried out by the Subaru Telescope showed a lower concentration of CO2 compared to water, contrasting with data from other telescopes that recorded a high proportion of carbon dioxide. Scientists attribute this disparity to variations in composition between the outer and inner layers of the nucleus. This particularity is explained by the passage close to the Sun, which causes the release of gases at different points in the center of the comet.
For Shinnaka, the analysis method used in this research will be relevant for investigating other interstellar objects that may be found in the future.
“Currently, we are able to directly compare comets that originate from inside and outside the Solar System, in addition to examining the distinctions in their structure and development. By analyzing these objects, we aim to achieve an in-depth understanding of planetary formation in several stellar systems, including our own”, concluded the researcher.