ARROKOTH

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Arrokoth, a distant object in the Kuiper Belt, has garnered significant attention due to its distinctive reddish hue and the presence of complex organic molecules.

EXPLANATION:

  • This celestial body, the farthest Solar System object ever visited by a spacecraft, has revealed intriguing insights into the composition of early Solar System bodies.

Arrokoth

  • Arrokoth was formerly known as 2014 MU69 and Ultima Thule.
  • It was explored by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft during its historic flyby in 2019.
  • It is located beyond Neptune’s orbit.
  • Arrokoth orbits the Sun in the Kuiper Belt, a region filled with icy bodies and remnants from the Solar System’s formation.
  • The discovery of its unusual color prompted further investigation into its surface composition and the processes that could have led to its current state.
  • A recent study has uncovered that Arrokoth’s reddish color is linked to the presence of complex organic molecules, specifically sugars.
  • The analysis, conducted by scientists in the US and France, suggests that the surface contains significant amounts of glucose and other sugar compounds.
  • These findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A composite image of Kuiper Belt Object Arrokoth

Research Methodology

  • The research team utilized data collected from the New Horizons flyby to analyze the surface composition of Arrokoth.
  • They also performed simulations to replicate the conditions Arrokoth has experienced over the past 1.8 billion years.
  • This involved exposing methanol ices to galactic cosmic rays, which are high-energy particles from space that constantly bombard celestial bodies.

Formation of Sugars

  • The simulations indicated that methanol ices, when subjected to cosmic rays, could produce a variety of sugar-type compounds.
  • These compounds include biologically significant sugars such as ribose and glucose.
  • The bombardment process resulted in the formation of organic molecules that would appear pinkish or red from space, depending on the angle of sunlight reflection.
  • This phenomenon explains the reddish hue observed on Arrokoth.

Spectroscopic Features and Implications

  • Spectroscopic analysis revealed pronounced features associated with methanol, further supporting the presence of complex organic molecules.
  • The study also noted that some of the sugars formed on Arrokoth are similar to those found in RNA on Earth, suggesting intriguing possibilities about the building blocks of life.
  • However, despite these findings, NASA has clarified that Arrokoth, located 4 billion miles from the Sun, is too cold to support life as we know it.

Kuiper belt

  • The Kuiper Belt is a doughnut-shaped region of icy bodies extending far beyond the orbit of Neptune.
  • It is home to Pluto and Arrokoth.
  • Both worlds were visited by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft.
  • There may be millions of other icy worlds in the Kuiper Belt that were left over from the formation of our solar system.
  • Scientists call these worlds Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs), or trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs).
  • Trans-Neptunian objects are objects in our solar system that have an orbit beyond Neptune.

SOURCE: https://www.ndtv.com/science/arrokoth-a-distant-red-object-in-kuiper-belt-is-rich-in-sugars-study-5857913#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17180890722655&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com

Spread the Word