Prominent Mid-infrared Excess of the Dwarf Planet (136472) Makemake Discovered by JWST/MIRI Indicates Ongoing Activity

We report on the discovery of a very prominent mid-infrared (18–25 μ m) excess associated with the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet (136472) Makemake. The excess, detected by the Mid-Infrared Instrument of the James Webb Space Telescope, along with previous measurements from the Spitzer and Herschel spa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters 2024-11, Vol.976 (1), p.L9
Main Authors: Kiss, Csaba, Müller, Thomas G., Farkas-Takács, Anikó, Moór, Attila, Protopapa, Silvia, Parker, Alex H., Santos-Sanz, Pablo, Ortiz, Jose Luis, Holler, Bryan J., Wong, Ian, Stansberry, John, Fernández-Valenzuela, Estela, Glein, Christopher R., Lellouch, Emmanuel, Vilenius, Esa, Kalup, Csilla E., Regály, Zsolt, Szakáts, Róbert, Marton, Gábor, Pál, András, Szabó, Gyula M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Asteroid surfaces
Classical Kuiper belt objects
Dwarf planets
Infrared instruments
Infrared telescopes
Irradiation
Planetary rings
Planetary thermal histories
Solar irradiation
Solar radiation
Solid surfaces
Telescopes
Trans-Neptunian objects
Upwelling
Volcanic activity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We report on the discovery of a very prominent mid-infrared (18–25 μ m) excess associated with the trans-Neptunian dwarf planet (136472) Makemake. The excess, detected by the Mid-Infrared Instrument of the James Webb Space Telescope, along with previous measurements from the Spitzer and Herschel space telescopes, indicates the occurrence of temperatures of ∼150 K, much higher than what solid surfaces at Makemake’s heliocentric distance could reach by solar irradiation. We identify two potential explanations: a continuously visible, currently active region powered by subsurface upwelling and possibly cryovolcanic activity covering ≤1% of Makemake’s surface or an as-yet-undetected ring containing very small carbonaceous dust grains, which have not been seen before in trans-Neptunian or Centaur rings. Both scenarios point to unprecedented phenomena among trans-Neptunian objects and could greatly impact our understanding of these distant worlds.
ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.3847/2041-8213/ad8dcb