JAKARTA – Several scientists from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), a non-profit research organization, observed four asteroids that are rich in silicate. From this research, they discovered water molecules.
The four asteroids they studied were Iris, Massalia, Parthenope and Melpomene. All of these asteroids were studied using data from FORCAST, an infrared camera instrument for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA).
One of the researchers from SwRI, Anicia Arredondo, said that Iris and Massalia have features that can be linked to water molecules. To prove the existence of this molecule, scientists linked its features to the discovery of water molecules on the Moon.
“We detected features that are clearly associated with water molecules on the asteroids Iris and Massalia. “We based our research on the success of a team that found water molecules on the sunlit surface of the Moon,” said Arredondo.
Several years ago, SOFIA detected water molecules in one of the moon’s largest craters, precisely on the southern part of the moon. The telescope found 12 ounces of water or the equivalent of one water bottle in one cubic meter of soil from the lunar surface.
The discovery of water molecules in lunar soil was used as a comparison by researchers at SwRI. According to Arredondo, he and his colleagues deliberately used data from SOFIA to find spectral signatures in Iris and Massalia.
“The abundance of water on asteroids is consistent with the abundance of water on the sunlit Moon. “Similarly, in asteroids, water can also be bound to minerals and adsorbed on silicates and trapped or dissolved in silicate impact glass,” explained Arrendondo.
Unfortunately, researchers could not find water molecules in the asteroids Parthenope and Melpomene because the data looked dim. It seems that the FORCAST instrument is not sensitive enough to detect water molecules in these two asteroids.
Although water molecules were only found in Iris and Massalia, this finding provides new insights. By studying the water on these two asteroids, researchers may be able to find the origin of the water coming to Earth.
“Asteroids are remnants of the planet formation process, so their composition varies depending on where they formed in the solar nebula. Of particular interest is the distribution of water on asteroids, as this could explain how water was delivered to Earth.”
Tag: asteroid space scientist
2024-02-16 04:30:00
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