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Traces of carbon dioxide detected on Pluto’s moon Charon

By admin, Kasım 11, 2024






Traces of carbon dioxide detected on Pluto's moon Charon



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Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, has continued to attract the attention of the scientific world since its discovery in 1978. Finally NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), in four different observations of Charon’s northern hemisphere in 2022 and 2023, Traces of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the surface of the satellite detected.

Pluto’s largest moon, Charon, is known, simply put, for its extremely cold surface and its possibility of harboring life is almost non-existent. Nowadays, thanks to the expanded wavelength range of the James Webb Space Telescope, Light reflected from Charon’s surface can be analyzed in more detail than ever before.




Traces of carbon dioxide detected on Pluto's moon Charon



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Researchers have long suspected that Charon has carbon dioxide on its surface. Because this gas is widely found in many regions of the Solar System. However, the most important question was how this gas was distributed on the surface and where it concentrated. Analyzes indicate that carbon dioxide is probably It was sprayed onto the surface as a result of the impact of space rocks. and shows that it accumulated in the upper layers of Charon.

On the other hand, traces of hydrogen peroxide may have formed as a result of water molecules on Charon’s surface interacting with radiation sources such as solar winds and UV rays. This finding provides valuable clues about the satellite’s evolutionary process and radiation levels. Research leader Dr. from Southwest Research Institute. Silvia Protopapa, “Our preferred interpretation is that carbon dioxide originates from the inner layers and rises to the surface via crater impacts. It is known that carbon dioxide is found in the protoplanetary disk where the Pluto system is formed.” he said.

These observations made on Charon not only provide information about the chemical structure and evolutionary process of this satellite, but also provide information about the formation processes of other icy bodies in the Kuiper Belt. Therefore, it may provide clues about the origin and evolution of ice masses in the outer regions of the Solar System.

























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