James-Webb detects mysterious gas jets coming from a strange object in the Solar System

James-Webb has struck again… minds, or more precisely his NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument. Thanks to this sensor acting in the near infrared, the space telescope was able to study one of the bodies currently navigating in the void, between Jupiter and Neptune. Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1, which we will therefore call Centaur 29, certainly presents strange and interesting behavior for our understanding of the formation of the Solar System.

Half-human, half-horse and half-gas

In space jargon, a Centaur (obviously inspired by the mythological creatures of the same name) is an object that orbits the Sun between Jupiter and Saturn. These frozen bodies are interesting to study because they are considered to be preserved vestiges of the formation of our solar system.

Although not classified as a comet, Centaur 29P undergoes gas explosions every six to eight weeks, which NASA astronomers wanted to study. Thanks to his extraordinary sensitivity, James-Webb was able to learn more about this body, which was already known to regularly release carbon monoxide (CO).

A questioning of certain theories

In addition to this CO jet, the telescope discovered two carbon dioxide (CO2) jets emanating from the north and south directions, as well as another CO jet pointing north. After modeling and analysis, the astronomers came to the conclusion that these jets are emitted by several regions of the object's core.

One of the theories that can explain this behavior would be that this nucleus is in fact an aggregate composed of at least two bodies with different compositions. “Enough to challenge our ideas about how primordial objects are created and stored in the Kuiper belt”says Geronimo Villanueva, co-author of the study.

In the meantime, the mechanisms behind Centaur 29's outgassing activity via CO and CO2 jets continue to be one of the major areas of interest for researchers, requiring further investigation.