Comet 3I/ATLAS from beyond solar system carries key molecule for life
Astronomers have discovered that 3I/ATLAS is carrying methanol and other chemicals that were probably important in the origin of life
Space
Astronomers have discovered that 3I/ATLAS is carrying methanol and other chemicals that were probably important in the origin of life
By Alex Wilkins
5 December 2025
Facebook / Meta Twitter / X icon Linkedin Reddit Email
Comet 3I/ATLAS is only the third known visitor to our solar system from elsewhere
International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist; J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (Intl Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)
The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is belching out carbon-rich chemical compounds at higher rates than almost any other comet in our solar system. One of these compounds is methanol, a key ingredient in prebiotic chemistry that hasn’t been seen in other interstellar objects.
3I/ATLAS, which is only the third visitor to our solar system from elsewhere in the galaxy, appears to be quite unlike any comet from our own galactic neighbourhood. As it travelled towards the sun, an envelope of water vapour and gas rapidly grew around it, which also contained much greater amounts of carbon dioxide than we see in typical solar system comets. The comet’s light also appeared to be much redder than is typical, indicating a possible unusual surface chemistry, and it began releasing its gases while relatively far away from the sun, an indication that it might not have passed close to another star for hundreds of millions of years, or since it left its home star system.
