First Detection of Carbon Ices on Solar System Objects: A Breakthrough Discovery
For the first time, researchers have discovered carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide ices on trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) in the furthest regions of our solar system. The largest and most potent telescope ever launched into orbit, the James Webb Orbit Telescope (JWST), was utilized to make the observations due of its infrared spectrum capabilities. In a study that was released earlier this week in the journal Nature Astronomy, researchers examined the chemical makeup of 59 centaurs and trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). According to the ground-breaking research, there was a lot of carbon dioxide ice in the chilly outer regions of the protoplanetary disc—the massive rotating disc of gas and dust from which the solar system originated. But because carbon monoxide ice is also common on the TNOs in the study, a research team led by planetary scientists Mário Nascimento De Prá and Noemí Pinilla-Alonso from the Florida Space Institute (FSI) at the University of Central Florida stated that more research is needed to understand the origins of the ice. As quoted by phys.org, De Prá, who co-authored the study, said, "It is the first time we observed this region of the spectrum for a large collection of TNOs, so in a sense, everything we saw was exciting and unique." (Source: Google Images) The researchers did not expect to find that carbon dioxide was so ubiquitous in the TNO region, and even less that carbon monoxide was present in so many TNOs," he added. Experts believe that the study would help in understanding the formation of our solar system. It could also shed some light on how celestial objects may have migrated. "Trans-Neptunian Objects are relics from the process of planetary formation," de Prá said, further adding, "These findings can impose important constraints about where these objects were formed, how they reached the region they inhabit nowadays, and how their surfaces evolved since their formation. Because they formed at greater distances to the sun and are smaller than the planets, they contain the pristine information about the original composition of the protoplanetary disk." “This is like the first chapter in an entirely new book we’ll be writing about exoplanets in the coming months.” — Jacob Bean
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