{"id":749139,"date":"2026-06-20T09:01:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T09:01:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/749139\/"},"modified":"2026-06-20T09:01:24","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T09:01:24","slug":"a-body-on-the-edge-of-our-solar-system-has-an-atmosphere-and-scientists-still-arent-sure-how-thats-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/749139\/","title":{"rendered":"A body on the edge of our Solar System has an atmosphere \u2013\u00a0and scientists still aren&#8217;t sure how that&#8217;s possible"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Astronomers have discovered signs of a thin atmosphere surrounding an icy body beyond the orbit of Neptune \u2013 despite the object being far too small to theoretically retain one.<\/p>\n<p>The finding challenges ideas about how distant Solar System bodies behave and evolve.<\/p>\n<p>The object, known as (612533) 2002 XV93, lies in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/what-is-kuiper-belt-outer-solar-system\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kuiper Belt<\/a> and measures only around 500km (310 miles) across \u2013 far smaller than Pluto (at about 2,377km or 1,477 miles).<\/p>\n<p>More Solar System science<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1363\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dwarf-planet-haumea.jpg\" alt=\"A 3D model of dwarf planet Haumea. Credit: NASA Visualization Technology Applications And Development (VTAD)\" class=\"wp-image-144994\"\/>A 3D model of dwarf planet Haumea. Credit: NASA Visualization Technology Applications And Development (VTAD)<\/p>\n<p>Scientists generally believe bodies this small lack sufficient gravity to hold onto an atmosphere for long periods.<\/p>\n<p>The discovery was made by a team of professional and amateur astronomers led by Ko Arimatsu at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/612533-2002-XV93-atmosphere.jpg\" alt=\"A star\u2019s light faded gently as 2002 XV93 crossed in front \u2013 a sign that it has a thin atmosphere. Credit: NAOJ\" class=\"wp-image-189741\"\/>A star\u2019s light faded gently as 2002 XV93 crossed in front \u2013 a sign that it has a thin atmosphere. Credit: NAOJ<br \/>\nHow the discovery was made<\/p>\n<p>The researchers observed the object from multiple sites across Japan as it passed in front of a distant star in January 2024.<\/p>\n<p>During such an event \u2013 known as a stellar occultation \u2013 astronomers can analyse how starlight changes as the foreground object moves across it.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>A sharp disappearance suggests no atmosphere, while a gradual dimming indicates gas surrounding the object.<\/p>\n<p>The team found that the data produced was consistent with atmospheric attenuation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Pluto-330b032.jpg\" alt=\"Pluto as seen by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft\" class=\"wp-image-45649\"\/>Pluto, as seen by NASA&#8217;s New Horizons spacecraft<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;A thin atmosphere has been observed around Pluto,&#8221; the researchers say, &#8220;but studies of other trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) have yielded negative results.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Calculations suggest any atmosphere around 2002 XV93 should survive for less than 1,000 years unless constantly replenished, implying it must have formed recently.<\/p>\n<p>However, observations by the James Webb Space Telescope found no evidence of frozen surface gases that could slowly evaporate to sustain it.<\/p>\n<p>Researchers propose two possible explanations: material from deep inside the object may recently have reached the surface, releasing gas; or a comet impact could have blasted material into space and temporarily created an atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>The study marks the first-ever detection of a potential atmosphere around a TNO other than Pluto.<\/p>\n<p>Future observations should determine how the atmosphere formed and whether similar processes may occur on other distant icy worlds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Astronomers have discovered signs of a thin atmosphere surrounding an icy body beyond the orbit of Neptune \u2013&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":749140,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[49,48,66],"class_list":["post-749139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/749140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}