Overview
- A peer-reviewed Nature Astronomy study reports the first detection of semi-heavy water in an interstellar comet using ALMA, with Chilean astronomer Tere Paneque leading the observing work.
- The team measured unusually high levels of deuterium, a heavy form of hydrogen that swaps into water to make HDO.
- That chemical mix points to formation in an extremely cold, isolated region, possibly before the comet’s parent star existed.
- The object is already beyond Jupiter and moving away at about 220,000 km/h, which limits chances for more detailed follow-up.
- It is only the third confirmed interstellar visitor after ‘Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, offering a rare look at material from another star system.