Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is much older than the solar system itself

📌 Summary:

• Scientists studying comet 3I/ATLAS have determined it is remarkably ancient — formed an estimated 10 to 12 billion years ago in a primordial planetary system
• It has a composition unlike anything in our solar system
• 3I/ATLAS is only the third interstellar object ever spotted within the solar system
• Analysing its chemical make-up gives clues about the physical and chemical conditions of the distant planetary system where it formed

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Science & Tech — space science, study of interstellar objects and their significance for understanding planetary formation

📝 Prelims Facts:

• 3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar object after 1I/ʻOumuamua (2017) and 2I/Borisov (2019)
• Estimated age: 10–12 billion years — older than the ~4.6-billion-year-old solar system
• Comets are icy bodies that release gas/dust (forming a coma and tail) when near the Sun

🔑 Key Term: Interstellar object — a body (comet or asteroid) that originates outside our solar system and passes through it on a hyperbolic, unbound trajectory