SPACE — The James Webb Space Telescope takes a closer look at a pair of icy asteroids originating from the Kuiper Belt called Mors-Somnus. It is hoped that this asteroid pair will reveal the evolution of the planet Neptune.
The binary asteroid Mors-Somnus is part of a large collection of objects scattered beyond Neptune’s orbit, illustrating an important part of the planet’s dynamic history. The research also provides valuable clues about how water, a key component of life on Earth, may have come to our planet.
Currently, further research on Mors-Somnus is providing insight into the composition and characteristics of icy objects in the Kuiper Belt, also known as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). This discovery not only opens the door to understanding Neptune’s past, but also reveals the origins of water and life on our own planet.
“We are studying how the actual chemistry and physics of TNOs reflect the distribution of molecules based on carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen in the clouds that give rise to planets, their moons, and small bodies,” said Ana Carolina de Souza Feliciano, research leader and scientist Disco-TNOs program at the Florida Space Institute, reported by Space.
With unprecedented technology, scientists can compare Mors-Somnus with other TNOs that are not affected by gravitational interactions. It is hoped that this method will open a new window in understanding the evolution of the solar system. The more data JWST transmits from objects in the Kuiper Belt, the more research into the origins of the solar system can be revealed.
Researchers believe that this is only the beginning of impressive discoveries, giving us a better understanding of how the solar system formed and evolved. The team’s research was published Jan. 9 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
2024-03-08 04:34:00
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