The James Webb Space Telescope has made a remarkable discovery about Charon, Pluto’s largest moon. For the first time, carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide were found on Charon’s surface, providing new insights into the moon’s chemical makeup. This builds upon earlier research from NASA’s New Horizons mission in 2015, which detected water ice on Charon. However, this recent discovery represents a crucial advancement in identifying other chemical substances present on the moon. Located over 3 billion miles from the sun in the Kuiper Belt, Pluto and Charon are among the coldest celestial bodies in the solar system. These findings were published in the scientific journal Nature Communications on October 1, 2024.

Researchers suggest that hydrogen peroxide forms on Charon when radiation interacts with water molecules on the surface. Carbon dioxide, on the other hand, may be released due to impacts from external objects. The advanced infrared sensors of the Webb telescope enabled scientists to identify these chemicals, which had previously been undetectable. This discovery offers valuable information about how Charon and other distant celestial bodies were formed and evolved over time. Understanding the chemical composition of remote moons and planets is essential for studying the outer regions of the solar system. These new findings could challenge existing theories about how such bodies developed and provide a deeper understanding of the processes that shaped them, offering new directions for future scientific exploration.