Scan Finds Presence of Nuclear Fuel in 3I/ATLAS

Two papers submitted to Nature Astronomy (not yet peer-reviewed) report a high deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio linked to 3I/ATLAS.

The first paper analyzed near-infrared spectroscopy data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

Methane shed by 3I/ATLAS has an unusually high deuterium abundance compared to hydrogen.

A separate paper finds the water in 3I/ATLAS is also enriched in deuterium.

The authors propose the deuterium enrichment could arise from formation in an extremely cold environment, such as a protoplanetary disk.