Methanol-Rich Interstellar Visitor 3I/ATLAS Reveals Multi-Source Outgassing and Higher Methanol-to-HCN Ratios Than Solar-System Comets

To the point

Led by Nathan Roth, the ALMA study of interstellar visitor 3I/ATLAS finds it unusually methanol-rich, with methanol released from both the nucleus and icy grains and HCN mainly from the nucleus, pointing to multi-source chemistry and colder conditions than solar-system comets and supporting a natural icy-body origin for this third interstellar traveler after Oumuamua and Borisov, with follow-up by Hubble and JWST and a preprint available.