NASA’s Webb Space Telescope has detected traces of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the surface of Charon, Pluto’s largest moon. The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, provide new clues about the composition and formation of this distant world. Charon orbits Pluto in a unique binary system, where both bodies orbit a point in space between them.
Charon is about half the size of Pluto and has a mass about one-eighth that of its parent body. Previous observations from NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft revealed that Charon’s surface is composed of various chemicals, including water ice, ammonia, and carbon-based compounds. The moon is also suspected of having cryovolcanoes that erupt ice instead of magma.
The detection of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide was made possible by the James Webb Space Telescope’s powerful infrared capabilities.
New clues from Charon’s surface
The telescope uses spectroscopy to break up light into individual colors, allowing scientists to identify the spectral fingerprints of elements and molecules.
The presence of hydrogen peroxide suggests that Charon’s water-ice-rich surface is actively processed by solar ultraviolet photons, solar wind, and galactic cosmic rays. The carbon dioxide is believed to come from below the icy surface, exposed through impacts from asteroids and other objects that create craters. The formation of Charon remains a mystery, with theories proposing that it either formed from a large impact with Pluto or that the two bodies collided and became stuck orbiting each other.
Understanding Charon’s composition helps advance our understanding of its formation and provides clues about other objects in the distant Kuiper Belt region of our solar system. The discovery of carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on Charon represents an essential step forward in comprehending this remote part of our solar system and the strange worlds that reside there. Further insights into Charon’s composition will help scientists unravel the mysteries surrounding its formation and the processes that shape the distant reaches of our cosmic neighborhood.
Noah Nguyen is a multi-talented developer who brings a unique perspective to his craft. Initially a creative writing professor, he turned to Dev work for the ability to work remotely. He now lives in Seattle, spending time hiking and drinking craft beer with his fiancee.
