Sept. 28, 2025
3I/ATLAS Has Chemistry Unlike Anything We've Ever Seen
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that 3I/ATLAS contains a carbon dioxide-to-water ice ratio of 8:1 - among the highest ever recorded in any comet. This "out of this world" chemistry explains why the comet began glowing far from the Sun, initially leading some scientists to wonder if we were witnessing humanity's first encounter with alien technology. Tonight we explore this extraordinary composition and what it tells us about the alien stellar environment where this visitor was born.
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Caliogu Shark Media. Welcome back, cosmic wanderers to another peaceful
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journey through the universe. Tonight, we delve deeper into the
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mysteries of our interstellar visitor three I Atlas as we
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explore one of its most puzzling characteristics, a chemical composition
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unlike anything we've ever encountered. So settle into your favorite spot,
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close your eyes, and let the cosmic chemistry of distant
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worlds guide you toward RESTful sleep. Picture yourself once again
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floating in the vast darkness of space, drifting alongside our
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mysterious visitor as it continues its ancient journey through our
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solar system. Three I Atlas is revealing secrets that challenge
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everything we thought what we knew about comets and the
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cosmic processes that create them. The James Webb Space Telescope,
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humanity's most powerful eye on the cosmos, has been studying
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three I Atlas with unprecedented detail. What it discovered has
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left astronomers both amazed and puzzled. This interstellar wanderer has
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a carbon dioxide ice to water ice ratio of eight
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to one, among the highest ever recorded in any comet.
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To understand how extraordinary. This is imagine the typical comets
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that visit us from the outer reaches of our own
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solar system. These familiar celestial visitors are often called dirty
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snowballs because they're primarily composed of water ice mixed with
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dust and small amounts of other frozen gases. Water ice
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is by far the dominant component, with carbon dioxide making
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up only a small fraction of their composition. But three
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iye Atlas is different. It's rich in carbon dioxide what
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we know on Earth as dry ice. This is the
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same substance that creates those ethereal wisps of fog when
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dropped into water, the material that sublimates directly from solid
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to gas without ever becoming liquid, and this unusual composition
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holds the key to understanding some of the early mysteries
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surrounding our visitor. When three I Atlas was first discovered,
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astronomers notice something peculiar. The comet was already showing signs
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of activity, developing its characteristic coma and tail when it
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was still remarkably far from the Sun. Most comets don't
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begin this process until they venture much closer to our
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stars warming influence. This early activity led to some fascinating
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speculation in the astronomical community. What could cause an object
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to begin glowing and outgassing so far from the Sun's heat.
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Some researchers wondered if we might be witnessing something artificial,
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perhaps humanity's first encounter with technology from another civilization. The
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carbon dioxide composition explains this early awakening. Unlike water ice,
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which requires significant heating to sublimate, carbon dioxide ice begins
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its transformation from solid to gas at much colder temperatures.
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As three I atlas approached the outer regions of our
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solar system, even the faint warming from our distant Sun
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was enough to begin the process of sublimation. Picture this
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cosmic chemistry unfolding in the cold depths of space. Molecules
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of carbon dioxide froze for perhaps billions of years, begin
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to vibrate with increasing energy as they absorb photons from
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our Sun. One by one, they break free from the
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comet's icy matrix, creating jets of gas that catch and
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reflect sunlight, forming the glowing coma that first caught our
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telescope's attention. But the carbon dioxide rich composition of three
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I atlas raises profound questions about its origins. How does
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a comet form with such an unusual chemical makeup. What
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conditions in its parent stellar system could have created this
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extraordinary ice mixture in our own solar system. The balance
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of water to carbon dioxide in comets reflects the temperature
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and chemical conditions that existed in different regions of the
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early Solar nebula. Comets that formed closer to the Sun
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tend to have less volatile material, while those that condensed
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in the coldest, most distant regions preserved more of the
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lightest gases and ices. The extreme carbon dioxide abundance in
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three I Atlas suggests it formed in conditions vastly different
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from anything in our Solar system. Perhaps its parent star
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was cooler than our Sun, creating different temperature zones in
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the planetary formation region, Or maybe the stellar environment contained
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unusual abundances of carbon bearing compounds that were incorporated into
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the forming comet. Another possibility is that three iye Atlas
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underwent some form of processing during its billions of years
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journey through interstellar space. Cosmic rays, high energy particles that
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permeate the galaxy might have gradually altered its surface composition.
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Solar radiation from other stars it during its long journey
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could have selectively removed certain types of ice while preserving others.
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As we drift here in the cosmic silence, observing this
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alien chemistry at work, we're reminded that the universe is
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far more diverse and complex than we once imagined. Each
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stellar system is unique, shaped by its own particular history
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of formation and evolution. The unusual composition also tells us
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something about the incredible preservation power of interstellar space. For
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billions of years, three I Atlas has been a cosmic
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time capsule, traveling through the near perfect vacuum between stars.
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The extreme cold of interstellar space, just a few degrees
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above absolute zero, has kept its ancient ices virtually unchanged
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since the ear when it first formed around its parent star. Now,
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as it ventures through our solar system, three Eye Atlas
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is finally beginning to give up these preserved secrets. The
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carbon dioxide sublimating from its surface carries with it information
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about stellar formation processes that occurred in a completely different
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part of the galaxy, possibly when the universe itself was
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younger and very different from today. As Three Eye Atlas
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continues to approach the Sun over the coming weeks, more
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of its carbon dioxide ice will sublimate, creating an increasingly
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spectacular tail. This process will reveal even more about its
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internal composition and structure. Each burst of gas and dust
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tells us something new about the alien world from which
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this visitor came. The story of three Eye Atlas reminds
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me that chemistry is truly universal. The same physical laws
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that govern the behavior of molecules on Earth apply throughout
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the cosmos. Yet the specific combinations and abundances of these
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molecules can vary dramatically from one stellar system to another,
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creating a rich tapestry of cosmic chemistry that we're only
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beginning to explore. As you prepare for sleep, imagine the
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molecular dance taking place on three I Atlas. Picture individual
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carbon dioxide molecules awakening after eons of frozen slumber, beginning
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their escape from the comet's surface. Feel the gentle acceleration
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as they're carried away by solar radiation pressure, joining the
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growing tail that streams behind this interstellar wanderer. Let the
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cosmic chemistry of distant worlds fill your dreams tonight. When
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you wake, remember that the very atoms in your body
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were once forged in the hearts of ancient stars, connecting
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you to the same cosmic processes that created the exotic
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ices of three I Atlas. Sleep peacefully, knowing that the
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universe continues to surprise us with its endless creativity and
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diversity until our next cosmic journey together. This is sleep
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from space, wishing you dreams filled with the gentle sublimation
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of alien ices and the patient chemistry of the stars.
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