(Cambridge, Massachusetts) Na big news wey don land, my padi! Interstellar object wey dem dey call 3I/ATLAS don turn plenty heads as researchers drop serious data wey show say this comet no be small thing. This object wey sabi enter our solar system don dey show mass wey pass 33 billion tons! E be like say we gats redraft our understanding of how these cosmic visitors dey behave.
According to the latest research wey come out, dem collect data from over 227 observatories all over di world. Na serious gbege for astronomers as dem find say 3I/ATLAS dey too massive, e dey resists the usual push wey comets dey get when dem dey shed gas and dust. How this one take happen? Dem find say e only get small positional shift wey be like 0.028 arcseconds over di observation period. Dis small shift mean no significant non-gravitational acceleration, so dis comet no wan budge at all!
The data wey come from Webb Space Telescope show say e dey lose approximately 150 kilograms per second, but still, the thing no change course – wetin be di meaning of all dis? E mean say di nucleus of 3I/ATLAS bigger than 5 kilometers in size! Abeg, no be joke o. This massive size dey make am fin say astronomers supposed don find plenty smaller interstellar objects before dem run into 3I/ATLAS, but reality don show dem two before now. Na wah!
As dem dey analyze di data, dem realize say di previous two comets, 1I/ʻOumuamua and 2I/Borisov, no fit hold candle to dis one as e bigger by 3 to 5 orders of magnitude. Wetin dem dey talk about heavy materials wey we suppose don see plenty, but we only don see two before now – dis one be real mystery! E come make sense why scientists dey scratch their heads over how dis kind large mass dey emerge.
3I/ATLAS go waka pass Mars on October 3, 2025, as di Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter go snap am with hi-res camera wey go show am as e truly be. How dem wan take view dis massive cloud? Observations go help dem clarify whether na natural comet dis one be or wether say e carry some alien technology vibes. But experts dey calm down di thinking as e still look more like natural comet – just wetin e drop na question mark.
As we dey watch di drama unfold, one thing wey clear be say astronomers no go rest till dem get clearer picture about di nature of 3I/ATLAS and how e take fit fit for cosmic wahala. Make we dey observe am well and wait for di next cosmic gist. Na galactic palava we dey talk about o, and di real jackpot na wetin we go find out next!
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