Space surprise. What was found at the edge of the solar system?

Not Kuipira It is made up of ice and rock fragments located beyond the orbit of Neptune, at a distance of 30 to about 50 astronomical units from the Sun. This region will also include dwarf planets such as Pluto, Haumea, and Makemake.

Scientists have analyzed new data from the New Horizons spacecraft as it traveled through the Kuiper Belt. Researchers found unexpected levels of particles where previously expected dust was receding. This indicates that The Kuiper Belt extends much farther from the Sun than previously thought.

As physicist Alex Donner of the University of Colorado Boulder says: The New Horizons spacecraft makes the first direct measurements of interplanetary dust beyond Neptune and PlutoSo every observation can lead to a new discovery. The idea that we might be able to detect an expanding Kuiper Belt – with a whole new group of colliding objects and producing more dust – provides another clue in solving the mysteries of the far reaches of the solar system.

It is worth noting that in 2015, New Horizons flew close to the planet Pluto, which orbits our star at an average distance of 39 astronomical units. In 2019, she visited Strange being ArrokothWhich is located at an average distance of 44.6 astronomical units from the sun.

Since then, the probe has been collecting data on particles in the Kuiper Belt. New research shows that satellite equipment is detecting much more dust than expected at these distances. Experts point out that the high density of dust results from the collision of larger objects or forces Solar radiationWhich throw up dust in unexpected ways from closer distances.

Researchers tend to claim that this is the case Collisions of larger objects provide an explanation for this mystery. However, this means that there must be more such facilities in this area. Other previous analyzes have suggested that the inner Kuiper Belt may extend up to 80 AU. This means that the new results support this hypothesis.

New Horizons is currently more than 58 astronomical units from the sun. Astronomers hope that the device will reach an incredible distance of no less than 100 astronomical units. With a little luck, he can reach the end of the solar system, which is more than 120 units.

– New scientific findings from New Horizons may be the first time a spacecraft has discovered a new group of objects in our solar system.. I can't wait to see how far the high dust levels in the Kuiper Belt extend, says astronomer Alan Stern, principal investigator for the New Horizons mission at Southwest Research Institute.

The results of the research were published in a scientific journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.