James Webb unexpectedly solved the chemical mystery of Chiron
4 days ago · 2060 Chiron, discovered in 1977. The object orbits the Sun in 50 years, moving in the region between Jupiter and Neptune. On 12 July 2023, the James Webb telescope detected the object at a distance of 18 times the distance from the Earth to the Sun. The researchers detected carbon dioxide and methane in Chiron’s coma, while carbon monoxide ...
James Webb telescope spies a mysterious asteroid-comet hybrid …
Dec 24, 2024 · The James Webb telescope has focused its attention on an oddball space rock lurking between Jupiter and Neptune. The unusual "centaur," named 2060 Chiron, has features of both comets and asteroids.
Asteroid-comet hybrid named "Chiron" is unlike anything ever …
Dec 23, 2024 · JWST’s advanced capabilities allowed the researchers to study Chiron even at its farthest point from the Sun. This distance usually limits the activity of similar objects, such as trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs). Unlike comets closer to the Sun, Chiron’s thinner coma offers clearer insights into its surface chemistry. Chiron’s ice and gas ...
Uncovering a Centaur’s Tracks: UCF Scientists Examine Unique …
Dec 17, 2024 · 2060 Chiron Chemical Composition. The colored bands highlight the different ices such as water ice, carbon oxides and light hydrocarbons. Inset: Detail of 2060 Chiron reflectance highlighting the fluorescence of methane gas together with absorptions of ethane and propane ices. (Image credit: William Gonzalez Sierra)
Asteroid-comet chimera Chiron has an unusual ice mix, James …
Dec 23, 2024 · Chiron's 50-year elliptical orbit around the sun saw it pass through aphelion — its greatest distance from the sun at 18.87 astronomical units (2.8 billion kilometers, or 1.75 billion miles) in ...
JWST Just Solved a Decades-Old Mystery About Chiron—Here’s …
Dec 24, 2024 · The celestial object known as (2060) Chiron is rewriting our understanding of the solar system’s history. Located between Jupiter and Neptune, Chiron belongs to a rare class of hybrid objects called centaurs.
James Webb Telescope Uncovers a Mind-Bending Hybrid of …
Recent observations using the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed that Chiron possesses an unprecedented chemical diversity. Scientists detected carbon dioxide ice and carbon monoxide ice on...
Astronomers Use JWST To Study a Rare Asteroid-Comet Hybrid Named "Chiron"
Chiron contains signs that it has emitted both carbon dioxide and methane - the first time the two gasses were found released from a Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO), a team of scientists report in ...
Uncovering a centaur's tracks: Scientists examine unique asteroid …
Dec 18, 2024 · Using the James Webb Space Telescope, UCF Florida Space Institute (FSI) scientists recently led a team that found, for the first time, that Chiron has surface chemistry unlike other centaurs.
Uncovering a centaur’s tracks: UCF scientists | EurekAlert!
Dec 18, 2024 · UCF researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to reveal one-of-a-kind attributes of (2060) Chiron, a distant “centaur” in space sharing properties of both a comet and an asteroid, giving...