Nickel Found in Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Stuns Astronomers
Something extraordinary has been spotted far out in our solar system — glowing nickel vapor coming from the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. And here’s the truly surprising part: it was detected at a distance from the Sun where temperatures are far too cold for any metal to vaporize naturally. This unexpected finding has given astronomers a brand-new mystery to unravel — and a thrilling glimpse into the chemistry of materials that formed beyond our own solar system.
The story of 3I/ATLAS began on July 1, 2025, when it was discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). It’s only the third confirmed interstellar object ever found, following the famous ‘Oumuamua and comet Borisov. But unlike those two, 3I/ATLAS was detected early enough for scientists to closely watch its behavior as it journeys through our solar system. That early detection gave researchers a rare opportunity to study an interstellar comet “waking up” — showing off new activity as it nears the Sun.
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Now, what makes these interstellar visitors so fascinating is that they’re essentially cosmic messengers. They carry the chemical fingerprints of the star systems where they were born — possibly billions of years ago. Each one is like a time capsule, preserving ancient material from faraway worlds that we could never otherwise explore.
Using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, an international team of astronomers began tracking 3I/ATLAS in real-time. Around July 20, their instruments picked up spectral lines that matched atomic nickel vapor, and this was at a distance of nearly 4 astronomical units from the Sun — almost four times the distance between Earth and the Sun. That’s incredibly far for such metal activity. Over the following weeks, the nickel signal became stronger, and by mid-August, traces of cyanogen gas (a common compound seen in comets) were also detected.
Here’s where things get even more intriguing — no iron was found alongside the nickel. Normally, both metals appear together because they behave similarly under heat. The absence of iron suggests that nickel might be escaping through low-temperature processes, possibly released from molecules that break apart under sunlight instead of melting directly from metal. This means the comet could be carrying unusual compounds — perhaps nickel combined with carbon monoxide or organic materials — that vaporize more easily than expected.
Adding to the picture, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found that 3I/ATLAS has a coma — that glowing cloud of gas surrounding it — rich in carbon dioxide rather than water, which is very different from most comets in our solar system. It also contains frozen water and carbon monoxide, hinting at a complex chemical structure that’s now starting to react as the comet warms up.
As 3I/ATLAS heads toward its closest pass to the Sun, scientists are racing to capture more data. Every observation helps reveal whether the building blocks of planets — metals, ices, and organics — are similar across the galaxy or unique to each star system. And once again, the universe has reminded us how full of surprises it is. A simple glimmer of nickel light, seen across billions of miles, is opening a whole new window into the chemistry of other worlds.
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