Tiny Space Rock With Atmosphere Stuns Scientists
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Astronomers have made a surprising discovery in the Kuiper Belt, a frigid region of space beyond Neptune. A small icy rock named 2002 XV93 has been found to have its own atmosphere. This is unexpected because the object is only about 310 miles (500 km) wide. That is about seven times smaller than our Moon. Usually, an object that small does not have enough gravity to hold onto gases. They simply drift away into space.
The study was led by Ko Arimatsu from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. His team used a technique called stellar occultation, which involves watching the object pass in front of a distant star. Instead of the star's light disappearing instantly, it faded out slowly. This can happen when an object is surrounded by gas. The gas bends and scatters the light as it passes through. This suggests that 2002 XV93 likely has an atmosphere. Before this, only larger bodies like Pluto were known to have atmospheres in this region.
"This discovery suggests that the traditional idea that global dense atmospheres form only around larger planets must be revised," said Arimatsu's team.
The source of the atmosphere remains a mystery. Some scientists suggest 2002 XV93 may have ice volcanoes that release gas into space. Others believe the object was struck by another space rock in the recent past, which could have freed trapped gases. If that is the case, the atmosphere may be temporary and could dissipate within about a thousand years. Researchers are also unsure what the atmosphere is made of. It could include methane or nitrogen. The study was published in Nature Astronomy on May 6, 2026.
Resources: NPR.org, Earthsky.org, Space.com
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46 Comments
animecat119 daysmaybe its made of OXYGEN!
iam_72auishdfas7 daysnot every single atmosphere is made of oxygen, for example, jupiter's atmosphere is made out of helium and hydrogen
johnmarston8 daysAlmost impossible, with what the video shows there is no star acting as a sun, so it could not serve as a hospitable planet, also there is no nature from what we can see. So no, sadly near impossible.
dog889 daysDoes it have an environment to support life?
ilovehenrydsaf5 daysMost definitely not. In order to support life, it needs decent temperatures and water. Probably some other things I'm forgetting, too.
itsok7 daysprobably not, since it can't hold its atmosphere
- rose139 daysThat is so sick! lol
luffy199 daysI can't believe that there are ice volcanoes!- rose139 daysThat is so cool!!!1
amethystfromgd9 daysThat is crazy, cant wait to see what happens next!- amethystfromgd9 daysIce volcanoes that release gas into space is actually crazy, cant wait to see what happens next!
- luffy199 daysIt's cool even that there is ice volcanoes!
- amethystfromgd9 daysWow, that's actually crazy information.
- luffy199 daysit's cool how this planet works
- iam_72auishdfas7 daysnot a planet. it's an asteroid inside of the kuiper belt where pluto is
- luffy199 daysthat's cool
