A SwRI-led team has detected spectral signatures of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Charon, Pluto’s largest moon, using observations from the Webb Telescope (white), which extend the coverage of wavelength of previous New Horizons flyby measurements (in pink). These discoveries offer clues to the formation and evolution of Charon, shown in the background as imaged by New Horizons. Credits: Silvia Protopapa (SwRI), Ian Wong (STScl)
NASA’s Webb Space Telescope has identified new clues on the surface of Pluto’s largest moon.
It first detected traces of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the surface of Charon, which is about half the size of Pluto.
Previous research, including a flyby by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015, found that the moon’s surface was covered in water ice. But scientists couldn’t detect the chemicals hidden in certain infrared wavelengths until the Webb telescope filled in the gaps.
“There are a lot of fingerprints of chemicals that we wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise,” said Carly Howett, a New Horizons scientist who was not involved in the new study.
The research published Tuesday in the journal Natural communications.
Pluto, a dwarf planet, and its moons lie at the edge of our solar system, in an area known as the Kuiper Belt. Besides water ice, ammonia and organic matter have already been detected on Charon. Pluto and Charon are both more than 3 billion miles from the sun and are likely too cold to support life.
Scientists think the hydrogen peroxide could come from radiation emitted by water molecules on Charon’s surface. Carbon dioxide could be released to the surface after impacts, said Silvia Protopapa, study co-author from the Southwest Research Institute.
This image provided by NASA shows an enhanced color view of Pluto’s large moon, Charon, captured by the New Horizons spacecraft on July 14, 2015. Credit: NASA via AP
The latest detection is key to studying the birth of Charon and could help scientists determine the composition of other distant moons and planets.
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