Mysterious objects between Jupiter and Neptune identified as comets
Mysterious objects between Jupiter and Neptune identified as comets
Published: July 26, 2013 at 5:20 PM
PASADENA, Calif., July 26 (UPI) -- NASA says one of its science spacecraft has solved the mystery of small celestial bodies orbiting the sun between Jupiter and Neptune -- they're comets.
The true identity of the objects, dubbed centaurs, has been one of the enduring mysteries of astrophysics, the space agency said, with debate of whether they are asteroids or comets. Astronomers have long disagreed about whether centaurs are asteroids flung out from the inner solar system or comets traveling toward the sun from afar.
Their mysterious dual nature saw them dubbed centaurs, after the creature in Greek mythology whose head and torso are human but whose body and legs are those of a horse.
Observations by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer found that most are comets, scientists said.
"Just like the mythical creatures, the centaur objects seem to have a double life," said James Bauer of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our data point to a cometary origin for most of the objects, suggesting they are coming from deeper out in the solar system."
Read more: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2013/07/26/Mysterious-objects-between-Jupiter-and-Neptune-identified-as-comets/UPI-30491374873646/#ixzz2aBqIjOYq
