James Webb telescope reveals that asteroids Bennu and Ryugu may be parts of the same gigantic space rock
Two of the most famous in the solar system asteroidsBennu and Ryugu, can be fragments of a single massive “parent” asteroid that was broken into pieces billions of years ago, new data from the James Webb space telescope (JWST) reveals.
If it is true, the space of brother – which have both recently been visited by spacecrafts that have managed to give them samples on earth – could shed light on the way in which asteroid families are created and dispersed in our cosmic district.
Bennu is an asteroid about 1,650 feet wide (500 meters) recently visited by NASA Osiris-Rex missionwhich touched on space rock in 2022 and collected samples which were returned to earth in September 2023, and since since produced several promising discoveries. Ryugu, meanwhile, covers about 2,950 feet (900 m) and was Visited by Japanese probe Hayabusa2 in 2019, which Sample delivered from the asteroid to our planet in December 2020.
The two space rocks have the shape of tops that run and are considered “potentially dangerous asteroids“Due to their size and proximity relating to the earth. None of the two represents a perceptible threat to our planet for at least the next century – although NASA keeps an eye on BennuDue to the strong chance, he could collide with us in 2182.
There are several different ideas on the origin of the two asteroids, but a main theory is that the pair belongs to the family of polea asteroids, which was created when a massive asteroid has separated into the early solar system. The largest remaining piece of this old asteroid is 142 Polana, a gigantic space rock covering more than 34 miles (55 kilometers) wide which is located in the main asteroid belt between March And Jupiter.
In a new study, published on August 18 The Planetary Science JournalThe researchers compared the spectroscopy data of 142 Poana, collected by JWST, with the samples of Bennu and Ryugu brought back to earth. The researchers found that the three space rocks looked like each other, suggesting that they all come from the same parent asteroid. However, it is still not certain of 100% if that is the case.
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“Very early in the formation of the solar system, we think that great asteroids collided and collapsed in pieces to form an asteroid family ” with Polana as the greatest remaining body”, principal author of the study Anicia ArredondoA planetary scientist at the Southwest Research Institute (SWRI) in Texas, said in a statement. The results “suggest that the remains of this collision have not only created Polana, but also Bennu and Ryugu,” she added.
The three asteroids share the same central composition of elements and minerals, such as carbon and magnetite, a rare shape of iron oxide. However, there are subtle differences in the concentrations of these substances between 142 Polana and the samples of Bennu and Ryugu, which means that a defined conclusion cannot yet be reached.
The study team believes that these differences are probably caused by the respective external surfaces of asteroids, which have each been slightly modified since they separated.
“Bennu and Ryugu are now much closer to the sun than Polana, so that their surfaces can be more affected by solar radiation and solar particles”, co-author of the study Tracy Beckersaid a planetary scientist of the Swri, in the press release. “Likewise, the polara is perhaps older than Bennu and Ryugu and would therefore have been exposed to micro-meteoroid impacts for a longer period,” she added. “This could also change the aspects of its surface, including its composition.”
Despite the differences, researchers say that a common parent asteroid is the best possible explanation for the origins of space rocks.
“They are similar enough for us to convince ourselves that the three asteroids could have come from the same parent body,” said Arredondo.
