Scientists from the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) have made a significant discovery: they have found hydrogen peroxide and carbon dioxide on Charon, Pluto’s largest moon. The mystery surrounding the moon is increased by the fact that these substances have never before been found on Charon’s surface. Researchers expanded on previous discoveries of water ice, ammonia, and organic compounds that give Charon its grey and reddish hues using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Since NASA’s New Horizons mission in 2015, Charon has been the only midsized object in the Kuiper Belt to be properly investigated. The absence of methane ice on Charon’s surface, in contrast to other Kuiper Belt objects, facilitates research on surface processes including cratering and the impact of sunlight.
Between 2022 and 2023, the JWST’s sophisticated equipment allowed for in-depth investigations of Charon, with a particular emphasis on its northern hemisphere. Data from the telescope showed that Charon’s surface has a thin layer of carbon dioxide, which was probably exposed by cratering events. This implies that carbon dioxide from Charon’s innards reached the surface, offering hints about the circumstances of the early solar system during the formation of the Pluto system.
Hydrogen peroxide was also found in addition to carbon dioxide. This substance is created when water ice on the surface of Charon interacts with cosmic rays and ultraviolet light from the Sun. SwRI’s lab simulations demonstrated how external pressures continuously shape Charon’s surface chemistry and verified that hydrogen peroxide may develop in these extreme settings.
In addition to expanding our knowledge of Charon, this discovery demonstrates the JWST’s exceptional capacity to investigate far-off, frozen worlds. More mysteries about the outer solar system may be revealed by the discoveries made on Charon, which may provide information about additional objects of a similar nature in the Kuiper Belt and beyond.
The study’s co-author, Dr. Ian Wong, stressed that Webb’s wide wavelength coverage has made it feasible for researchers to investigate Charon in previously unattainable ways, providing fresh insights on frozen planets other than Neptune.
