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March 12, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Interstellar Comet 3I\/ATLAS is exceptionally alcoholic<\/p>\n This interstellar visitor is \u201cbursting with methanol,\u201d according to one scientist<\/p>\n By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron<\/span><\/p>\n An artist\u2019s impression of Comet 3I\/ATLAS is shown as it passes near the sun.<\/p>\n Interstellar Comet 3I\/ATLAS is the gift that keeps on giving. A snapshot of space that lies beyond the solar system, it brings clues to our understanding of other stars, other worlds and the galaxy we call home. Just three such interstellar objects have ever been discovered, and by studying each one, we learn more about what\u2019s outside our cosmic neighborhood.<\/p>\n Last year the comet was on course to pass our sun, reaching speeds of more than 150,000 miles per hour at its closest point. That trajectory gave scientists an opportunity to observe the comet in detail, revealing that it is exceptionally alcoholic.<\/p>\n \u201cObserving 3I\/ATLAS is like taking a fingerprint from another solar system,\u201d said Nathan Roth, a research assistant professor at American University, in a statement. \u201cThe details reveal what it\u2019s made of, and it\u2019s bursting with methanol in a way we just don\u2019t usually see in comets in our own solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n When a typical comet nears the sun, ice inside the space rock turns to gas, leaving a trail of gases such as carbon monoxide, methane and ammonia in its wake\u2014and sometimes a little methanol. But according to new measurements from the ground-based Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, the interstellar interloper is \u201cheavily enriched\u201d in methanol\u2014indeed, far, far more methanol than astronomers would have expected.<\/p>\n The finding could offer clues to where 3I\/ATLAS came from: a question that\u2019s intrigued scientists since the comet\u2019s discovery in July 2025. The research has been posted on the preprint server arXiv.org and is yet to be peer-reviewed.<\/p>\n Meanwhile Comet 3I\/ATLAS is still going strong on its journey through our solar system\u2014and our spacecraft are still keeping an eye on it. In February a new image taken by the European Space Agency\u2019s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft revealed that 3I\/ATLAS, now past the sun, appeared as \u201cwhite, glowing egg-shaped object\u201d as it went by, according to the agency.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 12, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Interstellar Comet 3I\/ATLAS is exceptionally alcoholic This interstellar visitor is \u201cbursting with methanol,\u201d according to one scientist By Jackie Flynn Mogensen edited by Claire Cameron An artist\u2019s impression of Comet 3I\/ATLAS is shown as it passes near the sun. Interstellar Comet 3I\/ATLAS is the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[9841,21495,2902,21442,2900],"class_list":{"0":"post-46623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-3iatlas","9":"tag-alcoholic","10":"tag-comet","11":"tag-exceptionally","12":"tag-interstellar"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
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