3I ATLAS X-RAY GLOW | XMM-NEWTON DATA

Описание: On December 3rd, 2025, ESA's XMM-Newton captured X-ray emission from interstellar comet 3IAtlas - revealing a glowing cloud of gases invisible to optical telescopes. Could this solve the Oumuamua exotic ice mystery?
XMM-Newton observed 3IAtlas for 20 continuous hours when the comet was 282-285 million km away. Using its EPIC-pn camera, the most sensitive X-ray detector aboard, it recorded low-energy X-rays forming a distinctive red glow around the nucleus. This emission comes from charge-exchange reactions: cometary gases colliding with solar wind particles, stripping electrons and releasing X-ray photons.
These observations uniquely detect molecular hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2) - gases nearly invisible to Hubble, James Webb, or JUICE. Just days earlier, Japan's XRISM mission observed the same phenomenon November 26-28, detecting a 400,000 km (250,000 mile) X-ray cloud with carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen signatures.
This dual confirmation raises profound questions. Does 3IAtlas contain exotic ices like those proposed for 1I Oumuamua? Or does it behave like solar system comets? With closest Earth approach on December 19th, these X-ray datasets may finally reveal the comet's true interstellar chemistry.
Key discoveries:
First detailed XMM-Newton X-ray imaging of an interstellar object
Charge-exchange mechanism confirmed at unprecedented scale
Potential detection of H2/N2 invisible to other wavelengths
XRISM/XMM-Newton synergy validates emission extent
Direct test of Oumuamua nitrogen/hydrogen ice hypothesis
Sources:
ESA XMM-Newton: https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Im...
XRISM Mission: https://www.xrism.jaxa.jp/en/topics/n...
NASA 3IAtlas page: https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system...
arXiv preprint on 3IAtlas observations: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.08829
#3IAtlas #XMMNewton #InterstellarComet #XRayAstronomy #SpaceScience