Turns out, Something's pushing 3I/ATLAS besides gravity
For months, people watching the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS noticed something strange. It wasn't moving as expected if gravity was the only thing affecting it. At first, the changes were small, and scientists thought it could be an error. After gathering enough data, they saw a pattern.
Now, the feeling turned out to be the idea is right: Something besides gravity is pushing 3I/ATLAS.
Sounds Familiar?
If this sounds familiar, that's because it's happened before. In 2017, ʻOumuamua shocked everyone by speeding up without a comet tail. Then, 2I/Borisov acted more like a normal comet.
3I/ATLAS seems to be a bit of both.
Careful measurements from different places show that it's speeding up in a way that the sun or planets can't explain. The data lines up, so it's not just a mistake.
So, What's Up?
Usually, when small objects speed up like this, it’s because they're releasing gas as they heat up from the sun, thus acting like a tiny engine.
What's cool about 3I/ATLAS is that there is just a little changes.
It doesn't have a big tail, so it might be letting out gases that are hard to see, which can escape without taking any dust.
This supports the idea that objects from other star systems might not be the same as our comets because they were made in different places.
Why Does This Matter?
Knowing that this non-gravitational acceleration is happening changes how we understand the object.
Without it, we would be totally wrong about where 3I/ATLAS came from and how old it is. Now, scientists can better figure out its path and maybe where it was made.
Plus, it shows that these extra forces might be common with interstellar objects.
A Bigger Group of Objects
Each time we find an object from another star system, it's harder to put things into simple boxes like asteroid or comet. 3I/ATLAS adds to the fact that objects from other stars don't act like what we're used to.
Instead of being weird exceptions, these objects might just be normal things that happen when planets are created. They wander around a long time before we see them.
What’s Next?
As 3I/ATLAS goes back into space, scientists will keep studying it.
One thing is for sure: there's more to the story than just gravity.
Again, an
object from another star has shown us that the universe doesn't always do what
we expect and that even tiny objects can change what we know about space.
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