3I/ATLASEvidence
Evidence · 3I/ATLAS
Carbonyls alone miss the early nickel excess
Modelling the whole trajectory, Hutsemékers and colleagues find carbonyl sublimation does not reproduce the early nickel excess and invoke a transient heat source at 100 to 140 K, perhaps amorphous ice crystallising; JWST later saw possible crystalline ice at 5.7 au.
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 onA short-lived heat source released the early nickel
Supports1 for, none against
Still possiblewas No evidence yet
What it implies
- The early nickel may date a change in the ice's structure.For: Why did nickel vapour appear around 3I/ATLAS without iron, so far from the Sun?
Sources 2
JWST Reveals Refractory-Rich Water Ice in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS
SRCProtopapa et al. 2026
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). Carbonyls alone miss the early nickel excess [Evidence EVD0DFQ4K00TXQE]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFQ4K00TXQE
@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0dfq4k00txqe,
title = {Carbonyls alone miss the early nickel excess},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DFQ4K00TXQE},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DFQ4K00TXQE}
}