Scientists from Oxford University believe a mystery interstellar object, 3I/Atlas, may be the oldest comet ever seen. The object is estimated to be around three billion years old, which is older than our solar system itself.
Detected last week by astronomers, 3I/Atlas is only the third time an object has come from beyond our solar system. It was spotted in Chile using the Atlas survey telescope and was initially about 670 million km from the Sun.
The team thinks it may have originated in the Milky Way’s “thick disk”, a group of ancient stars that orbit above and below the area where the Sun and most stars are located. Since then, astronomers around the world have been racing to identify its path and discover more details about it.
Researchers believe 3I/Atlas is made up of water ice and could produce blazes of vapour and dust as it approaches the Sun later this year, creating a glowing tail. This would be one of the most remarkable interstellar visitors yet.
The discovery was presented at the UK’s Royal Astronomical Society national meeting in Durham. Experts expect that 3I/Atlas will become visible from Earth using amateur telescopes later this year.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx23g5jpj9go