3I/ATLASEvidence
Evidence · 3I/ATLAS
After perihelion the metals follow CO
From December 2025 to January 2026 the nickel and iron in 3I's coma followed the correlation between metals and CO seen in Solar System comets, and outbound the metals declined more slowly, as expected for carbonyls from centimetre depths.
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
Part of itWhy did nickel vapour appear around 3I/ATLAS without iron, so far from the Sun?
2 answers, none ahead yet
Openunchanged
Answer this evidence bears onMetal carbonyls sublimating from the nucleus
Supports2 for, none against
Still possibleunchanged
What it implies
- Ties the metals to CO, the gas carbonyls carry.For: Why did nickel vapour appear around 3I/ATLAS without iron, so far from the Sun?
Sources 2
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). After perihelion the metals follow CO [Evidence EVD0DFQ46MX9MYT]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFQ46MX9MYT
@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0dfq46mx9myt,
title = {After perihelion the metals follow CO},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DFQ46MX9MYT},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFQ46MX9MYT}
}