Arrokoth’s Reddish Glow Explained by Cosmic Rays

🧼🍬 Sweet and Soapy? Arrokoth’s Color and Chemistry Surprise Scientists! 🚀
On New Year’s Day, 2019, NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft gave us our first up-close look at Arrokoth, a strange, reddish, icy world floating at the edge of our solar system in the Kuiper Belt. But its mysterious color has left scientists scratching their heads—until now.

A study may have cracked the case. Researchers simulated the harsh environment of deep space by blasting methanol ice (Arrokoth’s main ingredient) with radiation—just like it would experience over millions of years from cosmic rays. The result? The ice turned reddish, perfectly replicating Arrokoth’s unique hue!

But here’s where it gets wild: the radiation didn’t just tint the ice—it created sugars. Among them were ribose and allose, plus glycerol, a compound commonly used in soap. That means this icy world might literally be sweet and soapy—a bizarre but fascinating combination that hints at the building blocks of life existing far beyond Earth.

Could chemistry like this be happening all across the solar system? 🧪🌌

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