A new paper presents findings about the Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth, shedding new light on the preservation of volatile substances like carbon monoxide in such distant celestial bodies.
The research uses Arrokoth as a case study to propose that many Kuiper Belt Objects -- remnants from the dawn of our solar system -- could still retain their original volatile ices, challenging previous notions about the evolutionary path of these ancient entities.presents findings about the Kuiper Belt Object 486958 Arrokoth, shedding new light on the preservation of volatile substances like carbon monoxide in such distant celestial bodies.
Previous KBO evolution models have needed help predicting the fate of volatiles in these cold, distant objects. Many relied on cumbersome simulations or flawed assumptions, underestimating how long these substances could last. The new research offers a simpler yet effective approach, likening the process to how gas escapes through porous rock.
This study challenges existing predictions and opens up new avenues for understanding the nature of comets and their origins. The presence of such volatile ices in KBOs supports a fascinating narrative of these objects as"ice bombs," which activate and display cometary behavior upon altering their orbit closer to the sun. This hypothesis could help explain phenomena like the intense outburst activity of comet 29P/Schwassmann- Wachmann, potentially changing the understanding of comets.
Astronomers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to image the warm dust around a nearby young star, Fomalhaut, in order to study the first asteroid belt ever seen outside of our solar system in ...
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