3I/ATLAS: Webb's Mid-Infrared Fingerprint Reveals Methane-Rich, Cold-Formation Signatures in an Interstellar Visitor
To the point
3I/ATLAS, the third confirmed interstellar visitor, shows a methane-rich coma with water and carbon dioxide and methane concentrated near the nucleus, indicating it formed far out in a cold region of its home protoplanetary disk, a conclusion reported by Matthew Belyakov and Ian Wong from Webb's MIRI observations.