High-resolution optical spectroscopy reveals the distinctive volatile composition of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

arXiv:2609.26577 · astro-ph.EP · Submitted 2026-09-22 · Read on arXiv

astro-ph.EP

Submitted: 2026-09-22

Updated: 2026-09-22

Comments: 16 pages (4 page appendix), 13 Figures, 4 Tables, Accepted for publication in A&A

License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/

Terminology

• Abundance — 30× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Aperture — 4× in this paper · explained in 1 episode
• Halley Type Comets — 4× in this paper
• Very Large Telescope — 4× in this paper
• Jupiter Family Comets — 3× in this paper
• Long Period Comets — 2× in this paper
• Benchmark — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Calibration — 1× in this paper · explained in 7 episodes
• Clustering — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes
• Consistency — 1× in this paper · explained in 3 episodes
• European Southern Observatory — 1× in this paper
• James Webb Space Telescope — 1× in this paper
• Trace — 1× in this paper · explained in 2 episodes

Sources

• The Highly Unusual Behavior and Chemical Composition of Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov
• Spatial Profiles of 3I/ATLAS CN and Ni Outgassing from Keck/KCWI Integral Field Spectroscopy
• Origin and evolution of NiI and FeI in the coma of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS throughout its trajectory
• High nitrogen and carbon isotopic ratios in the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
• Water D/H in 3I/ATLAS as a Probe of Formation Conditions in Another Planetary System

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