The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has made a remarkable discovery about the centaur 2060 Chiron, revealing a unique combination of ices and gases that sets it apart from other objects in the outer solar system. Chiron, located between Jupiter and Neptune, exhibits characteristics reminiscent of both comets and asteroids, including a gaseous coma and potential rings and debris field. JWST observations have identified carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide ice on Chiron's surface, and carbon dioxide and methane gas in its thin coma.
Jam packed issues filled with the latest cutting-edge research, technology and theories delivered in an entertaining and visually stunning way, aiming to educate and inspire readers of all agesThe James Webb Space Telescope has discovered that the centaur called 2060 Chiron is an oddball. The object, which is a minor body that orbits the sun in the expanse between Jupiter and Neptune, has a mixture of ices and gases that make it stand out from other objects in the distant outer solar system .
Furthermore, the action of the sun's radiation on these ices spurs chemical reactions that produce organic byproducts such as acetylene, ethane, propane, as well as various carbon oxides, all of which were found as ices on Chiron's surface by the JWST. "They are undergoing transformation driven by solar heating and they provide a unique opportunity to learn about the surface and subsurface layers," said Pinilla-Alonso."What is unique about Chiron is that we can observe both the surface, where most of the ices can be found, and the coma, where we see the gases that are originating from the surface or just below it."
James Webb Space Telescope Centaur 2060 Chiron Solar System Ices Gases
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