The Oldest Object in the Solar System May Have Been Found

Scientists have announced that the interstellar comet 3I/Atlas passing through the Solar System could be one of the oldest celestial objects ever observed. New research suggests that the object could be around 12 billion years old. If this estimate is correct, 3I/Atlas would be nearly three times older than the Solar System, which is thought to have formed around 4.5 billion years ago. Discovered in July last year, 3I/Atlas is the third interstellar object to be observed in the Solar System. According to a study published in the journal Nature, the comet's chemical composition is significantly different from that of known comets in the Solar System. Researchers analyzing data from the James Webb Space Telescope and the ALMA Observatory in Chile found that the comet contains unusually high levels of deuterium, a key component of heavy water. Martin Cordiner, lead author of the study from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, noted that the deuterium ratio in 3I/Atlas is about 10 times higher than in comets from the Solar System. This suggests that the comet formed in a very cold environment, with temperatures potentially as low as -243 degrees Celsius.