3I/ATLASEvidence
Evidence · 3I/ATLAS
Amorphous silicates, closer to interstellar dust
JWST/MIRI found the dust's silicates amorphous and pyroxene-rich with no measurable crystalline fraction (below 5.3 per cent), unlike Solar System comets and closer to interstellar dust.
What it means
Key questionWhat is 3I/ATLAS made of, and why is its chemistry so unlike a Solar System comet's?
No answer ahead yet
Openunchanged
Answer this evidence bears onAn icy body from a cold, metal-poor disc around an old star
Supports6 for, none against
Still possibleunchanged
What it implies
- Its dust was never heated enough to crystallise, so it formed far from its star or in a disc with little radial mixing.For the key question: What is 3I/ATLAS made of, and why is its chemistry so unlike a Solar System comet's?
Next steps 2
1
Compare gas lost with crust depth
Could shiftFair odds~20 h
11score
Details
Use the compiled production rates (Frincke and Seligman's table) to date when more than 20 m of surface had gone, and check whether the composition changed then. A change at that point favours the crust; a change well before or after weakens it.
2
Test whether a cosmic-ray crust can raise D/H to 1 per cent
Could shiftFair odds~30 h
8score
Details
Run the cosmic-ray processing model forward to predict how much a 20-m processed crust changes water D/H and 12C/13C. If processing cannot reach the measured ratios, the birthplace reading is strengthened; if it can, the isotopes no longer date the body.
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes
Sources 2
SRC
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). Amorphous silicates, closer to interstellar dust [Evidence EVD0DFQ3TYE9F15]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFQ3TYE9F15
@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0dfq3tye9f15,
title = {Amorphous silicates, closer to interstellar dust},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DFQ3TYE9F15},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFQ3TYE9F15}
}