{"data":{"id":1776,"lang":"en","title":"NASA's Webb Detects Methane on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS, a First for a Visitor From Another Star","summary":"Using its MIRI instrument, the James Webb Space Telescope found methane and unusually high carbon dioxide on interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, the first methane detection on a visitor from another star.","category":"science","category_label":"Science","published_at":"2026-06-05T10:01:16Z","updated_at":"2026-06-05T10:01:16Z","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/1776-nasa-s-webb-detects-methane-on-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas-a-first-for-a","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1776?lang=en","markdown_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1776.md?lang=en","image_url":"https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/astro/universe/news-images/NASA-Webb-Detects-Methane-3I-ATLAS.png","word_count":189,"reading_time_minutes":1,"sources":[{"url":"https://science.nasa.gov/blogs/3iatlas/2026/06/01/nasas-webb-detects-methane-on-interstellar-comet-3i-atlas/","domain":"science.nasa.gov"},{"url":"https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/06/260603023116.htm","domain":"sciencedaily.com"},{"url":"https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2026/06/Webb_sniffs_methane_from_interstellar_Comet_3I_ATLAS","domain":"esa.int"}],"translation":{"lang":"cs","id":1849,"title":"Webb od NASA objevil metan na mezihvězdné kometě 3I/ATLAS, poprvé u návštěvníka z jiné hvězdy","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/1849-webb-od-nasa-objevil-metan-na-mezihvezdne-komete-3i-atlas-poprve-u-navstevnika","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/1849?lang=cs"},"content":"NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has made the first direct detection of methane on an interstellar object, spotting the gas in the coma of comet 3I/ATLAS as it sped back out of our solar system. Using the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), astronomers mapped the gases around the comet during observations on December 15-16 and December 27, 2025, when the visitor was roughly 205 to 236 million miles from the Sun.\n\nThe chemistry is strikingly unlike most comets born in our own neighborhood. The methane-to-water ratio is surprisingly high, with few analogs in the solar system, and 3I/ATLAS is also unusually rich in carbon dioxide, releasing far more CO2 relative to water than typical comets. Methane only appeared once solar heating reached deeper subsurface layers, suggesting it had been locked away beneath the surface.\n\nScientists say the composition points to a very different formation environment than the comets that formed around our Sun, making the data the most chemically detailed record of material from another star system ever assembled. As only the third confirmed interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS offers a rare chemical fingerprint of a planetary system light-years away."}}