JWST mid-IR observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS yield the first direct methane detection and confirm strongly enhanced CO2:H2O mixing ratios relative to solar system comets.
Title resolution pending
3 Pith papers cite this work. Polarity classification is still indexing.
fields
astro-ph.EP 3years
2026 3representative citing papers
New Gemini and JWST data show 450P/LONEOS has a 1.8 km nucleus, CO2 gas production of ~7e24 molec/s, water ice absorption, and activity consistent with CO2 release from crystallizing amorphous ice.
JWST observations of 133P/Elst-Pizarro yield water outgassing rates of (1.9 ± 0.6) × 10^25 and (1.4 ± 0.4) × 10^25 molecules/s at true anomalies 8° and 37.4°, with hypervolatile depletion Q(CO2)/Q(H2O) < 0.009 and an average log(Afrho/Q(H2O)) = -24.6 ± 0.2 across three MBCs.
citing papers explorer
-
JWST and Gemini Observations of the Active Centaur 450P/LONEOS: Nucleus and Coma Characterizations
New Gemini and JWST data show 450P/LONEOS has a 1.8 km nucleus, CO2 gas production of ~7e24 molec/s, water ice absorption, and activity consistent with CO2 release from crystallizing amorphous ice.