"Comet 3I/Atlas continues to be full of surprises. As well as being only the third interstellar object ever detected, new analysis shows it is producing hydroxyl (OH) emissions, with these compounds betraying the presence of water on its surface. This discovery was made by a team of researchers at Auburn University in Alabama using NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and was described in a study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters."
"Hydroxyl compounds are detectable via the ultraviolet signature they produce. But on Earth, a lot of UV wavelengths are blocked by the atmosphere, which is why the researchers had to use the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory-a space telescope free from interference experienced by observatories on Earth."
""When we detect water-or even its faint ultraviolet echo, OH-from an interstellar comet, we're reading a note from another planetary system," said Dennis Bodewits, an Auburn University physicist who collaborated on the research, in a press statement. "It tells us that the ingredients for life's chemistry are not unique to our own.""
NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory detected hydroxyl (OH) ultraviolet emissions from interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, revealing water on its surface. The ultraviolet signature of OH was observable only from space because Earth's atmosphere blocks many UV wavelengths. Water presence on 3I/ATLAS allows characterization using the same chemical and physical scales applied to Solar System comets, enabling direct comparison of activity and sublimation-driven processes. Observing water-related emissions from an object originating outside the Solar System provides data relevant to understanding comet formation and the distribution of life-related chemical ingredients across planetary systems.
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