A comet from the main asteroid belt contains water vapor. Scientists came to this conclusion after studying data obtained by the James Webb space telescope.
What is known
The main asteroid belt is located between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars. It contains cosmic bodies of different sizes and mostly irregular shapes. Despite the name, there are also comets in the asteroid belt. One of them is called 238P/Read.
Previously, scientists believed that comets form in the Kuiper belt, which is located beyond Neptune. They could also appear in the Oort Cloud, which is even further away, at the edge of the solar system.
Astronomers could only speculate that the ice, which gives the comet its characteristic tail as it approaches the Sun, might be lingering in the main asteroid belt. The James Webb telescope helped confirm this theory.
In conclusion, we add that the observation of 238P/Read has posed a new puzzle for scientists. Typically, 10% of a comet’s volatiles are carbon dioxide. It quietly evaporates due to heat as the object approaches the Sun. Despite this, 238P/Read did not have carbon dioxide.
Perhaps the comet had already lost it before, when approaching the Sun. The second suggestion is that 238P/Read could have originated in the warm part of our solar system where carbon dioxide is absent.
Source: space
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