NASA detects ancient asteroids loaded with water

Scientists have identified a new type of large, dark space rock that is level with water in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

This group of asteroids is very similar to Ceres, the only dwarf planet in the solar system known to be densely packed with water. But while these asteroids are relatively close to Ceres, they orbit more outside the belt than their much larger siblings.

The discovery, made in measurements made at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility in Hawaii, adds evidence pointing to Main Belt asteroids migrating there from the cold Nether region, possibly beyond the orbits of Neptune or Pluto. Such clues suggest that the massive gravitational forces of the giant planets of the protosolar system changed their travel plans, moving the asteroid to its present location relatively close to the Sun.

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how the earth got water

A new class of asteroids may excite astronomers who support the theory that Earth’s oceans formed from icy comets and asteroids(opens in new tab) Crash into a planet. Some scientists believe that primordial Earth released gases 4.5 billion years before her, creating an atmosphere that eventually rained and stagnated.(opens in new tab)many believe that either cosmic rocks brought water from the outer edge of the solar system, or a combination of the two, to form a large body of water.

While this group of asteroids is not a “missing link” to the history of Earth’s hydration, the study supports the idea that ultra-distant rocks brought water components to arid regions of the solar system. planetologist Andy Rivkin said. Astronomer in the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. Rivkin, who was not involved in the study, is an expert on asteroids containing water and organic matter.

“This is probably the kind of object that reached our solar system and brought ice and organic matter with it,” Rivkin told Mashable. “Their cousins ​​could have hit Earth and brought some of it, not just Mars.”

Millions of asteroids orbit the sun. Rubble left over from the formation of the solar system about 4.6 billion years ago. Asteroids are often stereotyped as near-planetary threats, robbing them of sensational headlines for being “closer to Earth” even when they’re safely rolling millions of miles away. We tend to think of them as dastardly rocks that can’t be hacked and never coalesce into a real planet.

However, their scientific value is undeniable, providing an ancient record of the complex chemical and physical changes that occurred over time in the solar nebula (the cloud of gas and dust from which the sun and planets formed). said Driss Takir, lead author of the study.(opens in new tab) was announced in natural astronomy this week. A new class of asteroids similar to Ceres, rich in water and carbon, have the same ingredients essential for life on Earth.

“These asteroids will help us better understand the origin and evolution of our solar system,” he told Mashable.

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“These asteroids will help us better understand the origin and evolution of our solar system.”

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Scientist at the University of Heidelberg, Germany(opens in new tab) Collaborators on this study used computer simulations to investigate how these asteroids migrated from the outer solar system to the present-day asteroid belt.

After observing 100 carbonaceous asteroids(opens in new tab) Using infrared spectroscopy, a process that measures light reflected from its surface to reveal information about its minerals, Takir detected 15 dark, water-rich asteroids like Ceres. He believes that with more observations, scientists will be able to estimate how many like them are present in the main asteroid belt.

what is ceres made of

As space objects go, Ceres was pretty obscure before 2006, when it was known to experts as a giant 500-mile-wide asteroid more than 250 million miles from the Sun.Ceres was upgraded at the same time that the scientific community downgraded Pluto from planet to dwarf planet.(opens in new tab) to a dwarf planet. Then, in 2015, he was scrutinized by NASA’s spacecraft.(opens in new tab) In rare bright spots found on the surface of Ceres.

Through Dawn’s Mission(opens in new tab), scientists learned that Ceres is a world of the sea.That white speck was a salty crust of the same type of sodium carbonate people use as water softeners. attached(opens in new tab) About 25 miles underground and hundreds of miles wide. Meteorite impacts have melted slush just below the surface and created large fissures in dwarf planets, allowing salt water to seep out of cryovolcanoes.

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Astrobiologists are interested in whether primitive life could exist on Ceres, the closest ocean world to Earth.National Academy of Planetary Sciences Decade Survey(opens in new tab) recently recommended that NASA send a robotic spacecraft to land on Ceres to collect samples.

Similar to Ceres, the surface of the discovered asteroid has minerals derived from interactions with liquid water. The study suggests that at least some of these asteroids may also have water ice.

“Asteroid 10 Hygiea in particular is the largest Ceres-like faint asteroid with a near-spherical shape,” Takir said. “Searching for water ice on these asteroids requires high-resolution spacecraft observations.”

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Despite strong evidence that extrasolar bodies are importing components of water, the researchers found no meteorite material on Earth consistent with a new class of asteroids. If those objects never make the long journey to Earth, that doesn’t seem to bode well for theory.

But scientists say just because you can’t find those pieces on the ground doesn’t mean they aren’t here.

“If you throw a snowball at Earth, you can’t really go through the atmosphere because it heats up, melts and vaporizes,” Rivkin said. “But water adds to the atmosphere.”