Yesterday 04:40 PM
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1125362
EXCERPT: “Our new observations show that the conditions that led to the formation of our solar system are much different from how planetary systems evolved in different parts of our galaxy,” said Luis Salazar Manzano, lead author of the new study and a doctoral student in the U-M Department of Astronomy.
Water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, hence its H2O formula. In typical water molecules, though, those hydrogen atoms have just one proton at their core. In the comet’s water, a high ratio of its water molecules contain deuterium, a form of hydrogen with the standard issue proton plus a neutron. These heavier forms of water also exist on Earth, but in much lower quantities than were observed in 3I/ATLAS.
“The amount of deuterium with respect to ordinary hydrogen in water is higher than anything we’ve seen before in other planetary systems and planetary comets,” Salazar Manzano said. In fact, the ratio was 30 times that of any comet in our solar system, Salazar Manzano said, and 40 times the value found in the water in our oceans.
These ratios tell researchers about the conditions that were present where these celestial objects formed, allowing them to compare the birthplace of 3I/ATLAS with our solar system when planets and comets were forming. In particular, this result means 3I/ATLAS came from somewhere colder and with lower levels of radiation, said Teresa Paneque-Carreño, a co-leader of the new study and U-M assistant professor of astronomy.
“This is proof that whatever the conditions were that led to the creation of our solar system are not ubiquitous throughout space,” Paneque-Carreño said. “That may sound obvious, but it’s one of those things that you need to prove.”
Accomplishing an unprecedented study like this required a lot of things going right, the team said. It started with astronomers discovering 3I/ATLAS early enough to enable follow-up studies, Paneque-Carreño said... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPT: “Our new observations show that the conditions that led to the formation of our solar system are much different from how planetary systems evolved in different parts of our galaxy,” said Luis Salazar Manzano, lead author of the new study and a doctoral student in the U-M Department of Astronomy.
Water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, hence its H2O formula. In typical water molecules, though, those hydrogen atoms have just one proton at their core. In the comet’s water, a high ratio of its water molecules contain deuterium, a form of hydrogen with the standard issue proton plus a neutron. These heavier forms of water also exist on Earth, but in much lower quantities than were observed in 3I/ATLAS.
“The amount of deuterium with respect to ordinary hydrogen in water is higher than anything we’ve seen before in other planetary systems and planetary comets,” Salazar Manzano said. In fact, the ratio was 30 times that of any comet in our solar system, Salazar Manzano said, and 40 times the value found in the water in our oceans.
These ratios tell researchers about the conditions that were present where these celestial objects formed, allowing them to compare the birthplace of 3I/ATLAS with our solar system when planets and comets were forming. In particular, this result means 3I/ATLAS came from somewhere colder and with lower levels of radiation, said Teresa Paneque-Carreño, a co-leader of the new study and U-M assistant professor of astronomy.
“This is proof that whatever the conditions were that led to the creation of our solar system are not ubiquitous throughout space,” Paneque-Carreño said. “That may sound obvious, but it’s one of those things that you need to prove.”
Accomplishing an unprecedented study like this required a lot of things going right, the team said. It started with astronomers discovering 3I/ATLAS early enough to enable follow-up studies, Paneque-Carreño said... (MORE - missing details)