Centaur 29P Outgassing (Artist’s Concept)

An artist’s concept of Centaur 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1’s outgassing activity as seen from the side. Prior radio-wavelength observations noted a jet composed of carbon monoxide (CO) gas pointed toward Earth, shown at left from this angle.

Astronomers used NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s spectral capabilities to map the front jet’s makeup, and also discovered three additional jets spewing from the centaur’s nucleus: two jets of carbon dioxide (CO₂) gas swiping in the north and south directions, and another jet of CO spewing toward the north. The Webb data marked the first definitive detection of CO₂ in Centaur 29P.

The science team’s modeling efforts revealed that the jets’ locations are dispersed across different regions of the centaur’s nucleus. The jets’ angles suggest that the nucleus may have a bilobed structure that was formed when two different objects came together, however, other scenarios are still being considered.