They ’re red , they ’re reasonably gravid , and they have no business being in the master asteroid belt ammunition , but their breakthrough confirm the complex shape in spot when the solar organisation was still form .
Newresearchpublished in the The Astrophysical Journal Letters details the find of two extremely cherry main - belt asteroid . mention 203 Pompeja and 269 Justitia , the asteroids have a redder spectral key signature than any other asteroid in the main belt , that highly populated circle of asteroids situated between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter . The new paper was led by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ( JAXA ) uranologist Sunao Hasegawa .
Importantly , these reddish asteroids resemble trans - Neptunian object , that is , target situate farther away than Neptune , the most distant planet from the Sun ( with no disrespect to overshadow satellite Pluto ) . This could think of that 203 Pompeja and 269 Justitia formed way out there in the Kuiper Belt and then blow inward when the solar system of rules was still young . If confirmed , the Modern finding point how chaotic the conditions were back then and that materials from unlike part of the solar system would sometimes conflate together .
Artistic interpretation of an asteroid belt.Image: NASA
The function of the study was to document the distribution and composition of large asteroids in the main belt . Large asteroids , especially those larger than 60 miles ( 100 km ) in width , are likely survivors of the solar system ’s other days . By studying these object , the scientist were hop to catch a glimpse of what the circumstance were like some 4 billion year ago .
To do so , the astronomers made seeable and near - infrared spectroscopic observation of the main belt using the Telescope Facility ( IRTF ) and Seoul National University Astronomical Observatory ( SAO ) . This external coaction involved scientists from MIT , the University of Hawai‘i , Seoul National University , Kyoto University , and several other institutions .
Asteroid 203 Pompeja measures 68 mil ( 110 klick ) in diameter , while 269 Justitia is just half as great . Both feature an unusually ruddy spectrum , mean they reflect a lot of red Christ Within . They ’re even redder than D - type asteroids , which were previously trust to be the reddest objects in the asteroid belt .
The outer solar organization is packed with materials left over from the shaping of the solar organisation , including planetesimals ( asteroids ) and centaurs ( icy planetesimals located between Jupiter and Neptune ) . These distant objects are very red , containing complex constitutive compounds like methane and methanol icing . These compounds , when view through a spectrograph , give an asteroid its blood-red appearance . By contrast , objects in the inner solar system have scant traces of constituent cloth , so they be given to contemplate blue light .
Asteroids 203 Pompeja and 269 Justitia “ are call back to have been make near the outer edge of the Solar System beyond the upstage organic snow line and then locomote to the asteroid belt during the former epoch of the Solar System ’s formation , ” note a JAXApress release . By “ organic nose candy line , ” the scientist are referring to the location in the solar system where methanol and methane ferment into ice .
This finding suggests some asteroids in the main bash spring in the outer solar system , and that a universe of these objects is potential to exist within the principal belt . A good next footprint would be to determine the accurate balance of this red asteroid population . What ’s more , the new study showcases the independent belt as a good destination for a future mission . Instead of traveling to the outer edge of the solar system for samples of Kuiper Belt objects , all we ’d have to do is send a probe to the asteroid bash , where it could study both intimate physical object asteroids and those that formed far , far off .
More : Comet 67P repeatedly changed coloration during the historical Rosetta military mission .
Asteroid beltAstronomySolar System
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