Webb Telescope Detected Carbon Dioxide And Hydrogen Peroxide On Pluto's Moon
Date
10/2/2024 3:09:38 PM
(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Alimat Aliyeva
Observations by the James Webb Space Telescope provide
scientists with a more complete understanding of the composition
and evolution of Charon, Pluto's largest moon orbiting any of the
dwarf planets in our Solar system, Azernews
reports.
The researchers reported that the Webb telescope for the first
time detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide frozen in the
form of solids on the surface of Charon, which is a spherical body
with a diameter of about 1200 kilometers. They are added to water
ice, ammonia-containing compounds and organic materials previously
found on the surface of Charon.
Charon, discovered in 1978, is considered the largest satellite
of the Solar System compared to the planet it orbits. This is about
half the diameter and one-eighth the mass of Pluto, a dwarf planet
located in the cold region of the outer Solar system called the
Kuiper Belt, behind the farthest planet Neptune.
The distance between Charon and Pluto is about 19,640
kilometers. Most of the satellite's surface is gray, with
reddish-brown areas around the poles composed of organic
material.
The Webb Telescope's observations are based on data obtained
when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Charon during its
visit to the Pluto system in 2015. The new study is related to the
Webb Telescope, which will be launched in 2021 and will begin
collecting data a year later, increasing its observational
capabilities over a wider wavelength range than previously
available.
According to the researchers, the presence of hydrogen peroxide
is explained by the radiation processes that Charon underwent over
time, whereas carbon dioxide is probably the initial component of
the formation of this moon about 4.5 billion years ago.
Astronomers note that the water ice on the surface of Charon has
chemically changed as a result of continuous exposure to
ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, as well as energetic particles
of the solar wind and galactic cosmic rays passing through the
universe. They stated that the carbon dioxide observed by the space
telescope remained below the surface and was exposed to external
influences on Charon. Thus, carbon dioxide may be part of the
source material from which both Charon and Pluto were formed.
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