An interstellar comet passing through the solar system contains a surprising mix of chemicals, findings that could help researchers learn more about how planets and stars form elsewhere in the galaxy.
Comet 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed object from outside the solar system that was discovered in July by a Nasa-funded telescope in Chile, following the discovery of ʻOumuamua in 2017 and 2I/Borisov in 2019.
Astronomers have been able to photograph and analyse 3I/ATLAS’s composition in greater detail, thanks to follow up observations by Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.
Dr Richard Leveille, a planetary scientist at McGill University in Canada, said the comet’s chemical make-up is different to those found in the solar system.
“For example, it appears to have abundant nickel, but not much iron,” Dr Leveille told The National, who is also a participating scientist at Nasa.
“This is a bit surprising as these two elements are often found together, such as in cores of rocky planets or metallic meteorites.
“Perhaps more surprisingly, it is much enriched in carbon dioxide compared to water. Again, this is different from comets in our solar system that have more water than CO2.”
He said scientists are still unsure of what these differences mean, and the results are preliminary.
But it could be that they indicate the planetary-star system where the comet originates from is “so different” to ours that it leads to this unusual chemical composition.
Dr Dimitra Atri, principal investigator at NYU Abu Dhabi’s space exploration laboratory, said researchers often study comets closer to home because they could reveal clues of the early Solar System.
“These bodies preserve records of early solar system processes erased on Earth by tectonic activity and weathering,” he told The National.
“Asteroids and comets, remnants of the solar system’s formation, contain pristine materials that likely delivered water and organics to Earth.
“Analysing them helps reconstruct early Earth conditions and informs predictive climate models, including potential geoengineering solutions.”
Researchers now have a rare opportunity to study comets like 3I/ATLAS that could reveal more details on other star systems.
Dr Leveille said more information about the composition of the comet could help scientists compare the solar system to other ones in the galaxy.
“More detailed analyses and study of this comet, along with studies of other interstellar comets, will no doubt tell us about the diversity of planetary systems and the ranges of conditions that can be found beyond our solar system,” he said.
“Already, studies of exoplanets are showing us that our solar system is different in many ways from many other planetary systems.”
Some planetary systems, for example, orbit two or more stars, unlike our solar system which has only one, the Sun.
This means planets there experience very different conditions from what we see on Earth.
Dr Leveille said improvements in technologies and “a bit of luck” are helping to spot these objects as they are very far from Earth.
“Future observatories will likely find more of them. The new Vera Rubin Observatory is predicted to find several interstellar object every year of its operation,” he said.
“The more interstellar objects we find and study, the more we will be able to say about the origins and evolution of our own solar system and be able to assess the diversity of planetary systems elsewhere in our galaxy.
“How unique is our solar system? What does it take for planets to be habitable? How does that relate to the possibility of life elsewhere? With more discoveries of interstellar objects, we will be closer to answer these questions.”
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine 2.4L four-cylinder
Gearbox Nine-speed automatic
Power 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.4L/100km
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
Saturday results
Qatar beat Kuwait by 26 runs
Bahrain beat Maldives by six wickets
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by seven wickets
Monday fixtures
Maldives v Qatar
Saudi Arabia v Kuwait
Bahrain v UAE
* The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
