{"id":345474,"date":"2026-03-14T06:16:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T06:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/345474\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T06:16:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T06:16:08","slug":"scientists-stunned-after-mysterious-interstellar-object-found-to-be-bursting-with-alcohol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/345474\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists stunned after mysterious interstellar object found to be \u2018bursting with alcohol\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists have been left stunned after discovering that a mysterious interstellar object contains unusually high concentrations of alcohol.<\/p>\n

Researchers studying the 3I\/ATLAS comet found it is releasing the substance in quantities unlike anything previously observed near Earth.<\/p>\n

The 3I\/ATLAS object captured global attention late last year when it was identified as just the third known object from beyond our solar system ever seen passing through.<\/p>\n

The enormous celestial body – estimated to have a solid core up to 3.5 miles wide – made its closest approach to Earth shortly before Christmas and will never return.<\/p>\n

Researchers have now discovered that 3I\/ATLAS contains extraordinarily high levels of methanol.<\/p>\n

Methanol is a form of alcohol, though not the type found in drinks due to its extreme toxicity.<\/p>\n

The substance is more commonly used in rocket fuel and antifreeze.<\/p>\n

The discovery was made by scientists working at the Atacama Large Millimeter\/submillimeter Array observatory in Chile.<\/p>\n

\"3I\/ATLAS\"\/<\/p>\n

The enormous celestial body made its closest approach to Earth shortly before Christmas<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

They analysed gas plumes released from the comet as solar heat warmed its frozen surface during its approach.<\/p>\n

While detecting methanol and hydrogen cyanide in comets is fairly common, the sheer volume of alcohol streaming from 3I\/ATLAS is highly unusual.<\/p>\n

The organic molecule methanol appears in far greater quantities than in almost all comets native to our solar system.<\/p>\n

Professor Nathan Roth from American University said: “Observing 3I\/ATLAS is like taking a fingerprint from another solar system.<\/p>\n

\"Methanol\"\/<\/p>\n

Methanol is a form of alcohol, though not the type found in drinks due to its extreme toxicity<\/p>\n

| <\/p>\n

GETTY<\/p>\n

“The details reveal what it’s made of, and it’s bursting with methanol in a way we just don’t usually see in comets in our own solar system.”<\/p>\n

Scientists are still unsure what explains the phenomenon.<\/p>\n

One theory suggests the comet formed in an extremely cold region of its original star system.<\/p>\n

Another possibility is that exposure to intense cosmic radiation during its seven-billion-year journey altered its chemical composition.<\/p>\n

\"3I\/ATLAS\"\/<\/p>\n

Some researchers have suggested 3I\/ATLAS could have extraterrestrial origins<\/p>\n

| NASA<\/p>\n

Researchers believe the findings could help pinpoint the comet’s origins.<\/p>\n

The object continues its journey through our solar system, with its closest approach to Jupiter expected on Monday.<\/p>\n

Although most astronomers believe 3I\/ATLAS is a large comet, some have suggested the object could have extraterrestrial origins.<\/p>\n

Harvard astrophysicist Professor Avi Loeb has been among those advancing theories about a possible alien connection since the object was first detected in July 2025.<\/p>\n

He previously said: “As we get more data, when the sun puts more heat on this object, it might reveal its true nature.<\/p>\n

“It could be a wake-up call for humanity if we realise that there is a smarter kid on our block.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists have been left stunned after discovering that a mysterious interstellar object contains unusually high concentrations of alcohol.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":345475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[61,60,43,82,40822,247],"class_list":["post-345474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-science","tag-sgg","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=345474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/345475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=345474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=345474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=345474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}