'Snow' of space James Webb telescope finds material on Pluto's moon

[Anchor]
The origin of primitive celestial bodies, including the solar system, is one of the mysteries that mankind must solve.

Scientists recently discovered new materials that will be key to the creation of planets in Pluto's moon of Charon, at the end of the solar system.

This is reporter Lee Sung-kyu.

[Reporter]
It is a celestial caron with a diameter of about 1,200 kilometers and its surface covered with ice.

Charon is the largest moon of Pluto, a dwarf planet at the end of the solar system.

Pluto and Charon belong to the Kuiper Belt, home to dwarf planets, which are also called time capsules because they contain images of the early solar system.

Recently important materials that will reveal the origin of charon production have been identified by the James Webb Space Telescope.

The Southwest Research Institute says infrared observations from the Webb Space Telescope have found carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide on the surface of Charon.

The researchers estimated that the collision with space rocks caused carbon dioxide to be sprayed on the surface of the caron and that water molecules on the caron surface were decomposed by solar radiation, resulting in hydrogen peroxide.

[Kali Howett / Professor Young Oxford University] By measuring the level of hydrogen peroxide, we will give you a clue as to how much radiation hit the caron and its origin.]

The observation of the Pluto probe New Horizons in 2015 revealed that the surface of Charon was covered with ice, but at the time, these molecules were not identified due to limitations in observation equipment.

The discovery was largely attributed to the James Webb Space Telescope.

This is because it performs 100 times better than conventional Hubble telescopes and can be observed with infrared light rather than visible light to see the primitive universe 13.5 billion years ago.

The researchers expected that the discovery would further broaden the understanding of Pluto systems such as Pluto and Charon, as well as the Kuiper Belt to which they belong.

I'm Lee Sung Kyu of YTN Science.


Video editing: Kim Young-hwan
Design: Lee Ga-eun