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Space
Space
Science
Keith Cooper

Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS may be nearly 12 billion years old — so ancient its star system may no longer exist

3IAtlas Solar System Milky way the Milky Way International Gemini Observatory
A white light of the comet 3I/ATLAS is surrounded by a blue glow against a black background.

The interstellar comet that recently dominated headlines, 3I/ATLAS, could be between 10 and 12 billion years old, a new assessment of the comet's isotopic composition has shown. This so-called "invader" in our solar system is only the third object on record to enter our cosmic neighborhood from beyond.

If these new age estimates of the comet are true, they would suggest 3I/ATLAS was born within a few billion years of the birth of the Milky Way.

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