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Asteroid today: A stunning sugar world has been found in the form of Asteroid Arrokoth, which was discovered by NASA. It is the farthest object found in solar system.
An asteroid today that is grabbing much attention is Asteroid Arrokoth, which is composed of sugar components and it is the farthest object in solar system!
Asteroids engender both fear and wonder whenever they come up for discussion. They are fascinating remnants of the distant history, leftovers from the time the solar system was created. However, it is their explosive nature and the potential for destruction that has grabbed the attention of humanity. An asteroid has been blamed for the extinction of dinosaurs, remember? They come in many shapes and sizes and are mostly composed of stone, metal or even dust. But forget that, the awesome asteroid today that is stunning the world is called Asteroid Arrokoth and it is reported to be a sugar world. Yes, you read that right. The US space agency NASA discovered it in 2019.
That is not the only astonishing thing about Asteroid Arrokoth, According to the New Horizons spacecraft run by NASA, which discovered it, this space rock is the most distant object ever explored!
The color of Asteroid Arrokoth, is also drawing interest. It is rusty and that itself got researchers excited about its composition. For those interested in snow and Christmas, another awesome aspect of this asteroid is that it is snowman shaped!
How far away is Asteroid Arrokoth? It is located beyond the Kuiper Belt and is even further than the orbit of planet Neptune itself and as such qualifies as the most distant object discovered.
Now, back to the red color. Research has revealed that the pretty coloring on the asteroid may have hue courtesy the presence of sugar! This was found out through a simulation of cosmic irradiation on the asteroids surface. The experiment was conducted by a Chaojiang Zhang-led team at the University of Hawaii. The color was explained by reasearchers by saying that PAH, glucose and other sugars “appear red from space”.
The chemical reactions formed what is called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other tests helped detect glucose! Universe Magazine reported that, among the other things found during the test, was a sugar component found in fruits and nuts called allose. Also detected was a substance found in soaps called glycerol. In effect, the probability of Asteroid Arrokoth being sweet and having soapy consistency are extremely high. So, yes, Arrokot is a sugar world!
And this research will go along way in also finding out about the key inputs that led to the origin of life on Earth as asteroids like Arrokoth may well have crashed onto Earth in its early history bringing prebiotic molecules and even water.
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