Buzz
Discovered beyond Neptune's orbit in 2004 by a team led by Mike Brown of Caltech at the Palomar Observatory in the United States, Haumea continues to spark debates in the scientific community.
A fierce debate surrounds whether Pluto should be considered a planet, leading astronomers to ponder the planetary status of various Solar System objects. Among them, Haumea, a scarcely explored rock in the Kuiper Belt, stands out as one of the most peculiar entities in our Solar System. Currently, a NASA team is actively researching the peculiarities of Haumea.
Due to its considerable distance from Earth, gathering data about this enigmatic object poses challenges. Human probes have never reached Haumea, partly due to its small size and vast distance, making precise measurements challenging from Earth-based telescopes. As a result, researchers often turn to their favorite tool in astrophysics - computer models - to study and understand Haumea.
However, computer models require a certain amount of input data to make predictions, and so far, we have only scratched the surface of what we know about Haumea. One intriguing aspect is its rotation speed—a day on Haumea lasts only four hours, much shorter than the day of any similarly sized object in the Solar System. Additionally, its shape is unique, resembling an elongated sphere rather than the typical spherical shape of objects with similar sizes.
Dr. Noviello, the lead author of the study, revealed that Haumea also has some 'siblings'—smaller objects that appear to orbit it, resembling a system similar to the Moon but not officially classified as such. To unravel the mysteries surrounding this object, researchers have delved into its history, turning back time and estimating its past conditions.
A Two-Step Process Unveiling Haumea's Secrets
The creation involves two steps. Firstly, Jessica Noviello, currently a postdoctoral researcher at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, developed a model requiring three separate inputs - size, mass, and rotational speed of Haumea. The first model's output provides information such as the size and density of the object's core, which is then fed into another model used as a repeating basis to discover the formation process, reflecting how Haumea appears now.
Introducing small changes to the final simulation's input parameters will lead to a set of expected outcomes that can be compared with measured realities. It also highlights some intriguing possibilities during Haumea's formation.
Firstly, there's the possibility of a massive object colliding during the initial formation phase. Therefore, inertia caused a sudden increase in its rotational speed. Simultaneously, the impact may have ejected parts of Haumea, forming the now-known 'siblings,' small icy spheres surrounding it.
Creating these tiny icy spheres demands a second, lengthier process but is believed to have a significant impact. The rapid rotation caused denser rock chunks to slide into the dwarf planet's core, altering their positions. As all space rocks, they exhibit radioactivity, causing the melting of the icy water layer on Haumea's outer shell.
Some of the water then flows into the core, creating a clay-like substance. Rapid centripetal force subsequently shaped the elongated form we observe today. Additionally, some ice spheres attached to the main body broke off, forming smaller ice objects that still orbit the dwarf planet.
References: Spacefacts; Nature; NASA
