Triple System Of 'icy Space Rocks' May Have Been Found In Kuiper Belt For 2nd Time

Space.com

The Keck Observatory and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope may have uncovered a "potential three-body system in the Kuiper Belt," according to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.  Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterCredit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center  Paul Morris: Lead Producer  Music Credit: “Dark Reflection” by Peter William Hall [PRS], via Ninja Tune Production Music [PRS] and Universal Production Music

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00:00Kuiper Belt objects, also known as KBOs, are icy remnants from the early solar system located

00:06beyond Neptune.

00:08There are over 3,000 catalogue KBOs so far, but scientists estimate there could be hundreds

00:14of thousands more, each over 10 miles in diameter.

00:18The largest KBO is the dwarf planet Pluto.

00:22While these distant objects typically don't form their own systems, researchers have likely

00:27identified a stable trio of icy space rocks in the Kuiper Belt.

00:32This discovery of the Alt-Jira system, made using data from the Keck Observatory in Hawaii

00:37and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, could mark only the second three-body system found

00:42in the region.

00:44If confirmed, the Alt-Jira system hints at the possibility of more such triple systems awaiting

00:49discovery.

00:50These formations challenge the idea that collisions in the crowded Kuiper Belt produce such groups.

00:56Instead, they support the theory that triplets like these formed directly through the gravitational

01:01collapse of material in the solar system's early disk around 4.5 billion years ago.

01:08While stars are known to form as pairs or triples through gravitational collapse, researchers are

01:13still investigating whether this process applies to Kuiper Belt objects.

01:18The Alt-Jira system lies 3.7 billion miles away, or 44 times the distance between Earth and

01:25the Sun.

01:26Only a fraction of a pixel on Hubble's camera separates the two innermost members.

01:31Studying such distant, faint objects orbiting so close together requires patience and persistence.

01:38Using Hubble and Keck, scientists observed the system with data spanning over 17 years.

01:44This long-term study shows us Hubble's incredible value to astronomy.

01:48After more than 30 years in space, Hubble can revisit objects days, weeks, months, or even

01:54decades later, helping us uncover the mysteries of the universe, one observation at a time.

02:00The Alt-Jira system is a great place to see.

02:19The Alt-Jira system is a great place to see.

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