Frozen worlds in Kuiper Belt might be able to host life, new evidence suggests

Scientists have found some unexpected activity in the icy objects of the outer belt surrounding our solar system.

Kuiper Belt is a remote, doughnut-shaped region encircling much of our solar system, inhabited by ice-clad worlds like Pluto (a dwarf planet). Scientists have yet to explore the little-known area. However, they believe that millions of "dead objects" orbit here.

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Using the James Webb Space Telescope to view some of these icy objects, astronomers found evidence that they might not be so dead after all. They trained the powerful telescope, which orbits one million miles from Earth, on Eris and Makemake, the two largest-known objects of the Kuiper Belt. It has specialised cameras that can detect different elements or molecules in distant worlds.

According to the study published in the planetary science journalIcarus, the icy orbs and objects of the Kuiper Belt are preserved primordial relics of the early solar system. However, the frozen methane identified on the surfaces of Eris and Makamake shows that these molecules were recently "cooked up".

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The study suggests hot interiors below the icy surface, capable of pushing liquid or gas onto the crust. The relatively recent methane deposits suggestthat these icy worlds could harbour oceans, like Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

"We see some interesting signs of hot times in cool places," Christopher Glein, a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, said in a statement.

Glein, who haspreviously researched Saturn's geyser-shooting moon, Enceladusled the investigation into the Kuiper Belt objects.

"Hot cores could also point to potential sources of liquid water beneath their icy surfaces," Glein explained.

Scientists speculate that some of these frozen worlds, billions of miles away, could harbour conditions suitable for life. However, there has been no evidence for it.

There has been no attempt yet to reach these cosmic frontiers closely. But NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond opened the researchers to a complex world of distinct topography, including glaciers and mountains made of water ice.

"After the New Horizons flyby of the Pluto system, and with this discovery, the Kuiper Belt is turning out to be much more alive in terms of hosting dynamic worlds than we would have imagined," said Glein.

"It's not too early to start thinking about sending a spacecraft to fly by another one of these bodies to place the JWST data into a geologic context. I believe that we will be stunned by the wonders that await!," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)