Fwd: Dusting Off 3I/ATLAS: Interstellar Travelers Must Clean their Windshields!

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From: Avi Loeb <subscriptions@medium.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Jun 2026 at 18:30
Subject: Dusting Off 3I/ATLAS: Interstellar Travelers Must Clean their Windshields!
To: <zvagoman@gmail.com>

In a new paper posted here, Matthew Belyakov (from Caltech) and collaborators present the first spectroscopic mineralogical analysis of… Dusting Off 3I/ATLAS: Interstellar Travelers Must Clean their Windshields! Avi Loeb   ∙   June 30, 2026   ∙   3 min read   ∙   View on Medium The inferred emissivity spectrum as a function of wavelength (in micrometers) of the dust shed by the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS, with the best-fit model as a purple dashed line. Model components with non-zero contributions are shown below the spectrum. Part of the 6.9 micrometer feature is not well-captured by the model. (Figure credit: M. Belyakov et al. 2026) In a new paper posted here, Matthew Belyakov (from Caltech) and collaborators present the first spectroscopic mineralogical analysis of the dust shed by the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS. The analysis pertains to mid-infrared spectroscopy of 3I/ATLAS by the Webb telescope. The object exhibited a strong spectral feature at a wavelength of 10-micrometers, implying a dust composition dominated by amorphous silicates. Unlike Solar System comets which show significant crystalline silicate dust, the composition of the dust shed by 3I/ATLAS after perihelion is more similar to the dust in the interstellar medium. … Continue reading Continue reading this story on Medium. Sent to zvagoman@gmail.com by Avi Loeb on Medium Unsubscribe from this writer's email notifications Manage your email settings 3500 South DuPont Highway, Suite IQ-101, Dover, DE 19901 Careers·Help Center·Privacy Policy·Terms of service