Interstellar object spreading life-creating particles throughout the solar system as it nears Earth

 The mysterious interstellar object that's been flying through the solar system may be leaving behind the building blocks of life on our neighboring worlds.

Scans of 3I/ATLAS have revealed two key substances being released from the object, methanol and hydrogen cyanide, which combine to kickstart the chemical process needed to create genetic material like DNA and RNA.

Although 3I/ATLAS, which NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) have declared a comet, will only come within 170million miles of Earth in December 19, it's been getting much closer to several other planets and moons this year.

Its relatively close passes by Venus, Mars, and Jupiter have led Harvard Professor Avi Loeb to suspect that live-giving particles may be raining down on these worlds - a phenomenon called panspermia.

This cosmic process takes place when chemicals like methanol and hydrogen cyanide hitchhike on comets and later land on planets or moons, paving the way for organisms to form.

Loeb and other scientists have previously theorized that life on Earth began through a similar process, such as a meteor strike, billions of years ago.

Loeb added that 3I/ATLAS could end up playing the role of a 'friendly gardener,' seeding our solar system with new life, especially on moons which have been found to contain liquid water and ice, such as Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus.

However, the astrophysicist still questioned whether this was a natural comet or something else, noting yet another strange anomaly in the space rock's makeup which scientists can't explain. 

Compared to other comets humans have seen, the powerful ALMA telescope in Chile found 3I/ATLAS has an unusually high amount of the 'good' methanol compared to the 'risky' hydrogen cyanide, releasing over 100 times more methanol.

Loeb revealed that's the highest ratio ever recorded except for one oddball comet in our own solar system, giving it a chemical balance which favors life over toxic contamination.

Prior to this discovery, the Harvard professor had uncovered a dozen other strange properties of 3I/ATLAS, including a cometary tail pointing in the wrong direction, the object turning blue as it neared the sun, and course changes that defy gravity.

In fact, its gravity-bending course has brought the interstellar object within 18million miles of Mars, 60million miles of Venus, and is set to take 3I/ATLAS with 33million miles of Jupiter in March 2026.

Loeb explained that such a unique flight path through the solar system was so rare, it suggested that the object was intentionally guided on that course by an unknown intelligence.

NASA and other astronomers have largely rejected the interstellar spacecraft theory, contending that 3I/ATLAS has so many strange characteristics because it formed in a distant solar system under chemical conditions far different from our solar system.

Whether the object is a comet or an artificial object, the new scans revealed it's giving off more and more gas the closer it gets to the sun.

The hydrogen cyanide has mostly come straight from the space rock's core, while the methanol has been produced both from the core and in the gas cloud trailing behind it for hundreds of miles.

Methanol is a simple type of alcohol. In space, it's commonly found around new stars and baby planets. On Earth, however, tiny organisms like bacteria and yeasts can eat it as food to grow and make energy.

Plants make it naturally too, and it helps them fight off bugs or heal wounds. It works as building block for life by serving as an abundant organic molecule in space that can transform into more complex molecules such as sugars and amino acids.

Meanwhile, hydrogen cyanide is a bit trickier, existing as a gas that can be deadly in large doses. In smaller amounts, however, it's helpful.

Plants and bacteria produce it to protect themselves from attackers or to help seeds sprout under tough conditions. Chemically, it can link up to form the bases in DNA (adenine) and amino acids, which are life's core tools.

Loeb noted the discovery of a pro-life balance of these chemicals helps to rule out the speculation that this object could be a 'serial killer' moving through the solar system with hostile intent.

'The anomalously large ratio of methanol to hydrogen-cyanide production by 3I/ATLAS suggests a friendly nature for this interstellar visitor,' he concluded in a statement.