Our solar system might be spread farther into space than earlier thought

Science never ceases to amaze. The more we get to know, the more is left to be known always. Recently, a new technique by astronomers led them to suggest that our Solar System’s disc of material extends farther into space than we thought earlier.

After decades of observing space deeply, astronomers came to the conclusion that icy boulders, known as the Kuiper Belt, thin out from 48 times the distance between Earth and the Sun (or 48 AU). The belts of rubble have been seen extending for at least twice that distance around stars, making the Solar System rather small by comparison.

A team of astronomers led by Canada's Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre had hoped to uncover new targets for the New Horizons Probe to investigate as it journeyed through the Solar System's outer reaches.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Also Read |Earth's tiniest flowering plant could feed and oxygenate astronauts in space

What has the New Horizon Probe discovered?

The mission snapped pictures of a snowman-shaped rock, roughly 40 AU from the Sun, before continuing on its journey at a speed of just under 60,000 kilometres per hour. It's no simple task finding things for the plucky little probe to look at, now that it's nearly 60 AU from the Sun.

One technique commonly used is called shift-stacking. Taking pictures at different times and then stacking the images on top of one another, it's possible to combine all of that light from a dimly-lit object into a point, increasing its visibility.

The research team made use of machine learning, training a neural network on made-up objects inserted into telescope imagery before setting it loose on data collected using the Subaru Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii in 2020 and 2021.

Also Read |Are these New Mexico footprints the oldest proof of humans in Americas?

Compared with a human search through the 2020 data, the machine learning technique identified twice as many Kuiper Belt Objects, suggesting a distinct rise in the density of material at a distance of around 60 to 80 AU along New Horizons' trajectory.

It's possible our Solar System has at least two 'rings' of icy material divided by a gap at around 50 AU; one consisting of the familiar Kuiper Belt, the other a wide stretch of icy boulders reaching as far from Pluto as Pluto is from us.

Why such a gap might exist at all, of course, is an intriguing mystery itself.

The study's results are yet to be peer-reviewed, and would then need to be confirmed by future ground- and space-based surveys.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.