3I/ATLAS Leaks Nickel Gas Far From the Sun – NASA Can’t Explain It

In one of the strangest interstellar findings yet, astronomers have detected nickel gas streaming from the comet 3I/ATLAS, long before sunlight should be strong enough to release metals. The signal, captured by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, shows multiple nickel emission lines even while the comet was still extremely cold and far from the Sun. Combined with new results from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the object appears to contain a CO₂-rich chemistry unlike anything typically seen in our solar system.

Specifically, using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, researchers spotted multiple nickel emission lines while the object was still far from the Sun, which is long before typical cometary activity begins, according to the report from November 17.

This early detection, coupled with a set of surprising results from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, suggests 3I/ATLAS contains an unusually CO2-rich composition and may host exotic chemical pathways capable of releasing metals under extremely cold conditions.

Cold Comet Shouldn’t Release Nickel – Yet It Does

Led by doctoral researcher Rohan Rahatgaonkar of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, the team set out to analyze the chemical makeup of 3I/ATLAS as it entered the inner solar system. 

Traditionally, nickel atoms remain locked inside hard minerals that require high temperatures to vaporize, which are conditions commonly found much closer to the Sun. But 3I/ATLAS was nearly four astronomical units away, too cold for any normal metal sublimation. That contradiction forced researchers to consider alternative mechanisms.

One explanation involves photodissociation, where sunlight breaks apart fragile molecular structures, freeing nickel atoms early in the comet’s inbound journey. Another possibility is the presence of metal carbonyls – extremely volatile compounds such as nickel tetracarbonyl – that release metals with minimal warming.

Webb Confirms Unusual Chemistry

At the same time, Webb’s Near Infrared Spectrograph detected an extraordinary CO2-to-H2O ratio of about 8 to 1 in the comet’s gas cloud. Scientists rarely see uch a carbon-dioxide-rich profile far from the Sun and it suggests 3I/ATLAS formed in or migrated through regions where CO2 ice is abundant and stable.

The combination of early nickel release, absent iron, and CO2-heavy ices paints a picture of exotic, low-temperature chemistry, much of it unlike what’s typically seen in the solar system.

All things considered, interstellar comets offer rare chemical samples from other planetary nurseries. Observing nickel without iron hints that alternative metal-release mechanisms may be widespread in young star systems. It may also reshape how scientists think about dust grain evolution, metal transport, and early chemical processing during planet formation.

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