A pair of planetary scientists from Brown University and the SETI Institute have uncovered ancient ice deep within Arrokoth, the Kuiper Belt object (486958) that was the focus of a flyby by NASA’s New Horizons mission on January 1, 2019. They suggest that billions of years ago when the object first formed, there was a chance that ancient ice formed by comets could be present. By developing a new model to study comet evolution, the researchers found that this endurance is not unique to Arrokoth but may also be found in many other objects in the Kuiper belt.
This composite image of Ultima Thule was compiled from data acquired when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft flew by the object on January 1, 2019. This image combines enhanced color data (close to what the human eye can see) with detailed high-resolution panchromatic data. picture. Image credit: NASA / Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory / Southwest Research Institute / Roman Tkachenko.
“Using a fairly simple mathematical model, we now show that primordial ice can be trapped deep inside these objects for long periods of time,” said Dr. Sam Birch, a planetary scientist at Brown University. “Most of our community thought this ice should have disappeared long ago, but now we think that may not be the case.”
Planetary scientists have long struggled to understand what happens to the ice on these space rocks over time. The new study challenges traditional thermal evolution models and suggests that highly volatile ice on these objects may persist longer than previously thought.
A model created by Birch and SETI Institute researcher Orkan Umurkhan explains this phenomenon, indicating that the ice on these objects can endure due to their extremely low temperatures. This new idea may provide insight into the explosive nature of icy objects in the Kuiper belt when they approach the sun.
Ultimately, this study presents a new perspective on comet evolution and activity, challenging existing theories and paving the way for a deeper understanding of these celestial bodies and their origins.
Birch and Dr. Umruhan are co-investigators of NASA’s Comet Astrobiology Exploration Sample Return (CAESAR) mission, which aims to collect surface material from comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and return it to Earth for analysis, potentially shedding further light on comet evolution and activity.
The study is published in the journal Icarus, and the results could have implications for future space exploration missions and our understanding of the cosmos.
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Samuel PD Birch and Orkan M. Umruhan. 2024. 486958 CO ice and gas remain inside the Arokos. Icarus 413: 116027; doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116027
Source: www.sci.news
