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JWST detection of a carbon dioxide dominated gas coma surrounding interstellar object 3I/ATLAS
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JWST detection of a carbon dioxide dominated gas coma surrounding interstellar object 3I/ATLAS
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3I/ATLAS is the third confirmed interstellar object to visit our Solar System, and only the second to display a clear coma. Infrared spectroscopy with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) provides the opportunity to measure its coma composition and determine the primary activity drivers. We report the first results from our JWST NIRSpec campaign for 3I/ATLAS, at an inbound heliocentric distance of $r_H=3.32$ au. The spectral images (spanning 0.6-5.3 $\mu$m) reveal a CO2 dominated coma, with enhanced outgassing in the sunward direction, and the presence of H2O, CO, OCS, water ice and dust. The coma CO2/H2O mixing ratio of $7.6\pm0.3$ is among the highest ever observed in a comet, and is 4.5-sigma above the trend as a function of heliocentric distance for long-period and Jupiter-family comets (excluding the outlier C/2016 R2). Our observations are compatible with an intrinsically CO2-rich nucleus, which may indicate that 3I/ATLAS contains ices exposed to higher levels of radiation than Solar System comets, or that it formed close to the CO2 ice line in its parent protoplanetary disk. A low coma H2O gas abundance may also be implied, for example, due to inhibited heat penetration into the nucleus, which could suppress the H2O sublimation rate relative to CO2 and CO.
Forward citations
Cited by 3 Pith papers
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Very Large Telescope observations of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS III: High-resolution monitoring of CN and forbidden oxygen emission across the perihelion passage with ESPRESSO
3I/ATLAS becomes progressively water-dominated near perihelion, with CN production falling as r_h^-4.62 on the inbound leg and a green-to-red oxygen ratio comparable to 2I/Borisov.
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University of Hawaii 88-inch Telescope Observations of the Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS: Spectrophotometric Blue-Sensitive Spectral Time Series Spanning Two Months from Discovery
A two-month SNIFS spectral time series shows 3I/ATLAS had stable red colors while CN, Ni, and possible Fe emission developed during its pre-perihelion approach.
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A Physical Model for the Ice Coma of the Interstellar, Hyperactive Comet 3I/ATLAS
A Haser model tracking the fading of icy grain albedo by sublimation explains the exponential surface brightness profiles and photometry of comet 3I/ATLAS, with total ice scattering cross-section peaking at 3-4 au.
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