What specific scientific benefit is gained by observing interstellar comets?
Answer
Observing them yields direct data on the chemistry of materials from other star systems
The observation of interstellar objects, such as the visitor 3I/2019 Borisov, offers scientists an extremely rare scientific opportunity. Because these bodies formed around other stars and are only briefly passing through our solar system, their composition directly reflects the material synthesized in those distant stellar nurseries. Studying their transient chemistry and composition provides scientists with direct, physical data about the materials present in other star systems, information that cannot be gathered through remote observation alone.
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