The James-Webb telescope reveals the secret origins of asteroids Bennu and Ryugu

The space telescopespace telescope James-Webb (JwstJwst) has just made a new contribution to the exploration of the solar system with observations of Bennu. Meanwhile, RyuguRyugu who have regularly occupied the front of the astronomical news scene this last decade with the missions Osiris-RexOsiris-Rex A Hayabusa 2.

Observations of these missions have been combined with JWST data to be analyzed by members of the Southwest Research Institute. Similarly, (Swri) in the USA. Moreover, This results in an article published in james-webb telescope reveals secret origins The Planetary Science Journal Who throws a new light on the origins of Bennu. Therefore, Ryugu now attached to what the celestial mechanics, specialists in asteroids, call the collisional Polana family.

Located in the main asteroid belt. Moreover, between the orbits of Mars and JupiterJupiterit would have its source in 142 Polana, a very dark asteroid of the asteroid beltasteroid belt discovered by theastronomerastronomer Austrian Johann Palisa on January 28, 1875 and who owed his name to the city of Pola (today Pula, in Croatia), where the Austrian naval observatory is in which he made his discovery.

In a Swri press release. Nevertheless, Anicia Arredondo, the main author of the published study, explains about 142 Polana that “ Very early in the formation of the solar system, we believe that large asteroids collided and james-webb telescope reveals secret origins fragmented to form an “family of asteroids”, Polana being the greatest remaining body. Furthermore, The theories suggest that the vestiges of this collision have not only created Polana, but also Bennu and Ryugu ».

“Bennu’s journey” is a six-minute animated film on the NASA Osiris-Rex mission. Meanwhile, the Bennu asteroid and the formation of our solar system. Born from the rubble of a violent collision. projected in space for millions of years, the asteroid Bennu has experienced a difficult life in a hostile environment: the primitive solar system. Bennu’s journey reveals what we know and what remains mysterious about the evolution of Bennu and the planets. By recovering a sample of Bennu. Osiris-Rex will teach us more about the raw ingredients of the solar system and on our own origins. To obtain a fairly faithful French translation, click on the white rectangle at the bottom right. Subtitles in English should then james-webb telescope reveals secret origins appear. Then click on the nut to the right of the rectangle, then on “Subtitles” and finally on “Translate automatically”. Choose “French”. © NASA

James-webb telescope reveals secret origins

Similar infrared spectra

In support of this theory. there are therefore now spectroscopic observations of the JWST in theinfraredinfrared And the nearby infrared which gives information on the mineralogical composition of the Polana family, the surfaces of Bennu and Ryugu, information attached to that obtained by the spatial missions and the return of samples on Terre de Ryugu and Bennu which point to a composition and therefore a common origin.

Recall that the Hayabusa2 probe of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) met Ryugu in 2018. collected samples that were brought back to earth at the end of 2020. The Osiris-Rex probe NasaNasa In her. met Bennu in 2020 and collected samples james-webb telescope reveals secret origins that were brought back to earth at the end of 2023.

The Swri press release explains that ” Bennu and Ryugu are relatively small compared to Polana. The Bennu diameter is approximately 400 meters, the size of the State Building Empire. Ryugu is twice as big, but Polana eclipseeclipse Both, measuring approximately 53 kilometers in diameter. Scientists think that the severityseverity of Jupiter pushed Bennu and Ryugu out of their orbit close to Polana ».

A primitive carbon asteroid

142 Polana itself orbit at a distance of 2,419 times the earth distanceSoleilSoleilwith a orbital periodorbital period 3.76 years old and one eccentricityeccentricity 0.14. In the classification spectraleclassification spectrale Asteroids that we owe to the American astronomer james-webb telescope reveals secret origins David J. Tholen (from the Astronomy Institute of the University of Hawaii). 142 Polana is a primitive carbon -type asteroid of type F, a more common subdivision. So we can get an idea with the meteoritesmeteorites carbon chondrites found on earth like the mythical Allende.

Finally. let us also recall that it is the Japanese astronomer Kiyotugu Hirayama (1874-1943) who was the first to theorize in 1918 the notion of collisional family, also called family of minor planets or even family of Hirayama.

These are small celestial bodies with similar orbital elements (such as the Half-Grand AxisHalf-Grand Axiseccentricity. orbital inclination) and which, for this reason, are supposed to be fragments of past collisions between asteroids. The collision may have completely fragmented these asteroids. simply, when one was much greater than the other, produces ejectas from the main parent body.