Discovery of The Decade for Dwarf Planets? Eris and Makemake Geothermal Activity

[@picksalot1]

It's great to hear directly from the Scientists, unfiltered. Fraser, you're doing a wonderful job making the interviews available. Thanks

[@drewd2]

You know you've made it when prominent scientists are coming to you for interviews. Great interview!

[@m.childinflorence1760]

Incredible!! So cool that James Webb can get this data from Kuiper Belt objects…and that Fraser can get the study author same day!

[@carlm7094]

He’s a badass !!

[@kayakMike1000]

James Webb smelled a fart. Well, just saw the fart...

[@918_xDx]

It's always a good listen when the person being interviewed is so obviously excited about what they are doing . Excellent interview.

[@brentwalker8596]

Yeah, his smile is infectious. Fun interview.

[@deltalima6703]

I like how he just goes with the flow and does not try to follow a script. (Chris and Fraser both). The rogue planets were an interesting aside, could be stuff happening there too. This is a better time for discovery than humanity has ever seen before.

[@Korenshei]

Absolutely awe-inducing that in 2024, ten pixels is the best view we've got of two dwarf planets in our own solar system the size of whole countries on Earth, the existence of which we weren't even aware of for 99.99% of human history

[@olencone4005]

It's just going to get better as our technology improves, too :) Pluto was just a 4x4 blob of pixels when Tombaugh first photographed it in 1930... in 1996, Hubble turned that into a 100x100 pixel image where some basic surface details could be seen... by 2006, we could image multiple moons around Pluto... and in 2010, while it was still an indistinct blob, we could see enough variation in surface details to know there was something bright on the surface -- which New Horizons imaged in its 2015 flyby, giving us the famous Heart of Pluto. Just give it time and eventually images of Eris, Sedna, Makemake, and all the rest will be as crisp and well-known as those of Pluto!

[@mikejosef2470]

@@olencone4005 I wonder how many objects big enough to form a sphere there are in the Kuiper belt.

[@bluesteel8376]

I am so glad I found this channel. This is some of the best content on the Internet.

[@KSRKiller]

Dr Chris Glein is very easy to listen to. Thanks for the interview!

[@alfonsopayra]

Fraser these interviews are THE BEST of the internet related to space news!

[@Xostrich12X]

Great interview here. Loved your guest’s enthusiasm and ability to speak lively and clearly. Learned a lot

[@nathanielbyrne1132]

Omg these kuiper belt objects are so underrated, like why do people know about pluto and not these? Surely they're all dwarf planets right?

[@classydave75]

I mean, most people don't know a lot about astronomy in general, so... But yes, the Kuiper belt surely has some gems waiting to be discovered.

[@Soldierenjoyer]

If i had my own space agency, i will make my own kuiper belt explorer mission program.

[@bluesteel8376]

Yes, Eris and MakeMake are dwarf planets. So is Ceres though, and most people know nothing about it even though it is rather close to Earth.

[@ReggieArford]

We've known about Pluto a lot longer, and it's had more time to "take root" in popular culture.

[@belstar1128]

because pluto was discovered back in 1930 and these others in the 2000s and its just easier to see with telescopes .

[@IllumTheMessage]

16:43, this is amazing. Makes every chunk of icy rock floating around out there a potential seed for life. Our Universe is full of hot water!

[@bobbymoniz7657]

Dr. Glein's enthusiasm is contagious. I thoroughly enjoyed this interview. What a fascinating investigation, and what an awesome guy! He made all the chemistry very understandable for people like me who are not so well versed in the discipline. Thank you for bringing this interview to us!

[@alizaidanthamyeez740]

I want JWST or ELT or TMT (once they are built) to do some sort of observation of Sedna

[@marshall9886]

That was a great interview. Love to see him again.

[@mikelaffoon5986]

Wow! Dr. Glein's passion, energy and understanding is amazing. Well done, guys.

[@AliHSyed]

Great interview. And what a cool discovery, I love hearing about this research directly from the researchers

[@stanthemann1313]

Spectacular guest and interview! Scintillating new science and Fraser's excellent interviewing style are great combo.

[@Death-Sickle]

I really hope we get some new missions to more dwarf planets soon

[@Soldierenjoyer]

I want to see eris close up, and it's very likely in few decades we will launch missions to sedna, ixion, orcus and quaoar

[@nathanielbyrne1132]

That's how we should list the planets in our solar system!

[@apentagon6499]

I wonder why so many of the dwarf icy planets like Pluto and Eris seem so active or "hot" inside while it isn't as apparent for planets like Mars or even Venus, despite having recent evidence of geothermal activity? Now of course just because it seems like they have signs of activity doesn't guarantee that the icy dwarf planets are, but I find it intriguing especially since these worlds are smaller than Mercury yet possessing terrestrial activity. Maybe this could reshape how we think of planetary formation?

[@Tugela60]

Because they are mostly made of ices and not rock? Melting point of ice is much lower than rock.

[@IllumTheMessage]

They detected methane on Mars. Might be from the same process.

[@tonywells6990]

Mars is about 1100 C a few hundred km below the surface, but that temperature drops quickly in the crust, and of course Venus is much hotter.

[@belstar1128]

i think its because the crust is too tick

[@mikejosef2470]

I did not know we have imaged any exoplanets directly. I assume they're really big ones? I really enjoy this channel Fraser. Your enthusiasm is obvious, and obviously real. I wish my dad were still alive. I'd have given him KZbin premium as a birthday present every year for the last 5 years for sure, and he'd have loved your channel even more than I do. Makes me smile to think of that, even as I blink back a tear or two.

[@elcastigador3270]

Extremely enlightening, the new data points keep stacking up, faster, and faster taking us forward exponentially.

[@thebigerns]

Hey Fraser. I'd like to suggest labeling artistic renderings of objects (Eris, etc.) as such so we impressed viewers can be unconfused about what we are seeing. When showing actual images of said objects, the label could be a source credit.

[@ReggieArford]

Agreed. There's too many "artists' conceptions" out there, looking like real photos; and actual photos of the oddest things from obscure sources. We need to keep them sorted out.

[@jeremysart]

Astrum does this on his videos, not a bad idea

[@deltalima6703]

I honestly prefer seeing the scientist speaking than a bunch of animated nonsense.

[@FrancisFjordCupola]

Heroes! Awesome news. Superb interview!

[@Groksaurus]

When Fraser asked Dr. Glein if it was hard to get Webb time, I was really wishing he would have responded "No, it was super easy. Barely an incinvenience". Then Fraser could have responded "Oh, really!?"

[@TheInsaneupsdriver]

This means any stable star with non tidally locked rocky planets in the goldilocks zone, or further, have a much higher chance of life, but intelligent life is still massively rare.

[@joehopfield]

Great interview!

[@djj949]

All your vids are high quality, great interview!

[@NHR_Music]

Finally some more science about these dwarf planets! We should really try to visit tjese objects in the future

[@jonathanbyrdmusic]

What an honor to have these scientists reach out to you. It speaks to the quality of your work.

[@rogerdudra178]

It is very interesting to learn the composition of methane and how it can form. Most illuminating.

[@lenwhatever4187]

Great interview. I am glad people are spending time examining stuff in our own system. How is your mic set up? I was surprised that your guest sounded more pleasant to listen to. Your audio while very good so far as the mic picking up goes, sounded very "close", as if there is a wall right in front of you and then the room is quite dead (though that could be distance from you mouth to the mic). A slight touch of reverb might be helpful. It is interesting that this is normally not noticeable, when you are doing space bites for example you voice sounds fine. Weird and probably not important. Not a mic or sound card problem (don't buy more stuff). Maybe try to angle the camera a bit so you are not perpendicular to the wall and, contrary to popular opinion, leave a little more room between you and your mic to allow more more room sound in. Do be aware that moving farther away from the mic will make you sound different due to loss of proximity effect you will sound more natural.... and you may not want that :) Most VO artists like the bass boost close mic gives. I understand too, that there is not much you can do about the screen in front of you (put it in night mode will give you less of a blue tint unless that is just the LED lighting). I am being very picky and in general _none_ of these things detract from your shows, so doing nothing is a viable option. Yes audio has been a part of both my "day job" when I worked in broadcast and also hobbies of audio SW development and as a musician. I can generally choose to still enjoy music with horrible audio. SO I am probably pickier than needed.

[@jasoncuculo7035]

Whether or not life exists under the ice of dwarf planets that far away, the exciting possibility of chemical activity and subsurface water is amazing!

[@davidrowewtl6811]

It would be great to do this study on Pluto's smaller moons, Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx to see how small a body has/had a methane cycle.

[@Jamex07]

I think these bodies have signs of activity because they're still basically undergoing planetary accretion in slow motion because it takes so long to clear their orbital paths. While it would be nice for eris and makemake to have internal oceans, but its also just as likely that these surfaces have been resurfaced due to impact events from slowly clearing out their orbital paths. The deuterium containing methane could also be a product of these isolated events, too

[@niehlsbohr]

What an amazing job you have made for yourself, Mr Cain! How did you end up getting to geek out with some of the most intelligent creative people around? Seriously, would you ever talk about your career path? Thank you for giving this to us.

[@MrJdsenior]

The 50X multiple is interesting. Itt gives some idea of the amount of science that will be able to be conducted with Web, that there is a time multiplier as well as a resolution multiplier. It is an amazing instrument. I can't imagine how many scientists are drooling to get time on the platform.

[@12345.......]

That's awesome researchers are asking you to be interviewed

[@rajahua6268]

Great interview. Plenty of new things to learn.

[@chaos6876]

Very interesting work and interview. The cryo-vulcanism is also interesting with further examples of smaller bodies generating internal heat which is clearly not produced by tital forces. I don't think it is wise to just assume that all this heat is a result of radioactive decay. We will discover that all massive bodies generate their own heat (in relatively small amounts) without any radioactive decay. The heat is being generated by the same process that is causing the accelerated expansion of the universe.

[@craigschaffert]

I heard 10 years before the time of Webb. Thought to myself, 'that was like 10 years after the James Webb project started.

[@cavetroll666]

Salute from Toronto

[@matthewk9563]

what a great discovery!

[@ackmedbinlama7179]

This is my favorite KZbin channel 😄

[@piotr2037]

Very interesting interview! How scientists know that signatures of methane come from surface of the target object and not from some cloud between Earth and that object?

[@Jellyman1129]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: dwarf planets *are* planets. They share all the same processes as their larger counterparts, and these recent discoveries continue to support that. 💫

[@beaches2mountains230]

SUPER GREAT CONTENT !! COMMENT FOR THE GOOD OL' ALGO !!! 😊

[@AJHyland63]

Just a thought but what happens when primordial organic compounds are bombarded by cosmic radiation? What happens when water is bombarded by cosmic radiation? Can cosmic radiation break the bonds within the molecules? If so, would organic compounds be reduced eventually into its simplest molecules and if water molecules are broken into say H2 and O2 or even further break H2 down to H+ and this forms a cloud around CH2- or CH3- breaking off more complex organic material through the action of cosmic radiation bombardment, would not they tend to combine into CH4? Even at near zero kelvin would radiation bombardment be enough energy to strip atoms from molecules? In that case you could theoretically have CH4 forming in situ on the surface from interaction of complex organics, water and cosmic radiation over time spans of billions of years without chemical breaking of the bonds. One would have to experiment of course, maybe even within an orbiting satellite transparent to all forms of cosmic radiation.

[@marshalleubanks2454]

In the discussion around 22 minutes in about the size of active icy worlds, he leaves out the Aluminium-26 in the early solar system. The solar system had a lot of this in its very early days, it is radioactive with a half life of 717,000 years, and it seems to have produced enough heat to melt even small asteroids (e.g., the sources of the nickle-iron meteorites). So, I think you have to separate very early ocean worlds, which might have been only a few 100 km across, and long duration ocean worlds, which might have to be Pluto sized or larger.

[@savetheplantet5799]

Life ? Think it may be a better tool to get c12 to c13? This is super exciting stuff!😮

[@barrybell9939]

Can the methane detected on eris be due to life? Or would that be a different methane?(methane emissions on earth are considered signs of life)

[@revmatchtv]

Love these interviews!

[@garibaldi9528]

Were all of the hydrogens deuterated or just one or two or three? What information would that imply?

[@bluesteel8376]

deuterium is 1 in 10000 H atoms, so the chance that 2 D atoms are in 1 molecule would be extremely low.

[@lethargogpeterson4083]

The graphs of the spectra showed formulas like CH3D instead of the usual methane formula CH4. I take this to mean they were seeing the signature of methane with 1 Carbon, 3 non deuterated Hydrogen, and 1 Deuterium (deuterated hydrogen.)

[@CeresKLee]

WOW! "Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent and nonprofit applied research and development (R&D) organization. Founded in 1947 by oil businessman Tom Slick. Whoa, oil man Tom Slick may be the best name from a oil man! I knew that Southwest Research Institute was in San Antone, but never knew it was a non-profit.

[@iVardensphere]

Every time I hear "cooking methane", I think the solar system has a substance abuse problem 🙃

[@frasercain]

Breaking Bad, space edition.

[@biquettier]

First the energy goes to make the body round. Once the body is round, the energy goes into geological energy.

[@isaidromerogavino8902]

Wait, doesn't pluto's moon has a considerable gravitational pull over it? I vaguely remember their barycenter being outside of pluto.

[@ad-jv8bz]

I ponder if Ceres has this chemical reaction and if seasons or gravity could help trigger temporary reactions.

[@ericv738]

I wonder if one day there will be a lot of factories on Makemake

[@mknochel]

If the newly discovered most luminous object in the universe (quasar J0529-4351 ) were at the center of Andromeda galaxy, how bright would it look to us, and would it be hazardous to us?

[@brucehansensc]

Where can I buy a JWST t-shirt? I have become a fanboy.

[@tactileslut]

Anton sells some: @whatdamath if I remembered correctly.

[@theblackswan2373]

Fascinating. I wonder what geological processes could produce a methane and hydrogen sulfide rich cryo-volcano…

[@ReggieArford]

Both gasses have been found in primordial clouds, so they could be "leftovers".

[@thewiseyoutubecommentor]

Q: Why don't we have any images of the asteroid belt or Kuiper belt? Can't we point Hubble at them?

[@nitestryker7]

I have a question about Mars Sample Return. The samples have been collected and deposited on the surface of Mars. Are scientists not worried that these samples may be buried in sand?

[@CybAtSteam]

The atmosphere on mars is so thin, it would take hundreds if not thousands of years to bury those sample tubes. Plus, we have accurate gps (marsps?) locations for each tube.

[@meesalikeu]

DOC CHRIS WE NEED A MISSION TO TRITON !!!!!

[@TheebayOffroader]

Lets look for life in space. What should we look for? Methane and co2. What were the 2 gasses were banning on earth again?

[@nomad7474]

How has JWST changed The Drake Equation from just a few short years ago (if at all)?

[@danielthibault5845]

Cool pillow :)

[@Soldierenjoyer]

I think we should have another new horizons-like mission for these small worlds. Who knows what will we discover there?

[@nathanielbyrne1132]

Totally, like why can't we have another round of voyager-style missions, surely the costs have come down a lot since then.

[@Soldierenjoyer]

​@@nathanielbyrne1132yep

[@DanielWatson-vv7cd]

Could it be possible that there are alien lifeforms on dwarf planets that are responsible for heating up the subsurface ocean?

[@aurelbetz2172]

I hope no one holds it against me, a biologist, to ask a potentially stupid question on this forum: Towards the end of this video, the interviewee mentions that measuring the carbon isotope ratio (very precisely) would give a clue to a bio-signature. I understand how radiocarbon dating works for determining the age of fossils, but what is the rationale behind this approach for gleening a dead versus alive planet from its atmosphere?

[@frasercain]

I got the impression that it was about how the carbon cycles in the atmosphere. Different cycles yield different isotope ratios

[@aurelbetz2172]

@@frasercain So, there is actually an established bio-signature that can be seen in the atmosphere of far-away planets? If true, that would be spectacular. Perhaps one of your interviews could dig into this with one of the leading guys in this field.

[@noelstarchild]

Great video.

[@MemeticsX]

Glein's video is mirrored. It's always so uncanny-valley when people do that. \-:

[@kayakMike1000]

Something in the Kuiper belt farted and the humans got so excited.

[@bbbenj]

Thanks.

[@gabbyn978]

It doesn't happen often that I say: wut, because something unexpected is discovered by science. That is one of these moments.

[@cg256y9]

Because they are so large and have such odd orbits I have always wondered if those dwarf planets are ejected moons from the ice and gas giants sorting out their orbits millions of yrs ago.

[@rwarren58]

I am certain that I heard that Earth’s seas were once methane. Where did an ocean of methane come from? It must occur naturally.

[@EdMartens-q6l]

Which flavor has the methane on Mars

[@richardloewen7177]

Has a new formal assessment arisen re coming-on-line larger telescopes? How many dots show re a given KBO?

[@brucethomas471]

That smaller objects like minor planets or moons could have hot interiors is news! How close are we to discovering they all have life, too?! Or we'll have to rewrite astronomy books, too, to mention hydrothermal activity on smaller worlds and all it could mean. Great interview!

[@Tugela60]

"Hot" is a relative term. Remember, these bodies are mostly made of ices which have melting points which are a lot lower than rock.

[@ReggieArford]

Depending on how hot, and how deep, this could also be a source of geothermal power for a colony. No sunlight required!

[@Tugela60]

@@ReggieArford No. This is water/ammonia we are talking about, it freezes at -90C. "Warm" is a relative term, it is still colder than any place on earth.

[@ReggieArford]

But it's still a couple hundred degrees above Space. At such low temperatures, the Carnot efficiency can be quite high. @@Tugela60

[@yoredeerleader]

FUN FACT: the special flavour is pumpkin spice.

[@JamesCairney]

This was good

[@whig01]

Methane forms in the core, and escapes then condenses.

[@cactu]

what a great seeming dude

[@florinadrian5174]

Sooo since these are dwarf planets, would the cows that burp this deuterated methane be dwarves too?

[@Joe-jv5mm]

Learn something New every day, who would think that looking @ Dots would yield so much information, Guess we're all descendants from Primordial Tar, Joking aside ❤️ the Channel

[@thesecretreviewer8242]

lower gravity kinda makes it like a ball of water with some Crisco floating on the surface

[@voltaries]

Everyone is wondering where all this methane is coming from.... and I'm thinking, am I the only one thinking "space cows"?

[@jasoncuculo7035]

WOW !!!!!!!

[@deepdrag8131]

I just know that, eventually, it will turn out that dwarf planets are cooler than regular planets… …and Pluto will have the last laugh!

[@aapex1]

Wasn't Earth's "primordial soup" mostly Methane?

[@acmelka]

How cool would it be if we found bacterial life in the kuniprr belt. So counter intuitive it sounds right to me. Fingers crossed as always. It is never aliens but it will be

[@deltalima6703]

Archaea were around 250million years earlier here on earth. They are as interesting as bacteria too. We should look for them too. 😃

[@ottogianno6266]

0 seconds ago Great show, great interviews. New game...every time Mr. Cain uses 'like' as a filler word, drink a shot!

[@ZOMBIEHEADSHOTKILLER]

"dwarf" planets are planets.... not only are you admitting so, by calling them planets, despite the qualifier. But also, you wouldnt say a "dwarf" person isnt a person, cuz they are too small to clear their own path.

[@ScRaMbLeS247]

We got planets man

[@Hobbinski]

Not cool. They’re called “Little Planets”

[@esecallum]

lets send GREATA THUNDEBERG to stop the methane

[@jns9023]

Pls do interviews More like John Michael godier

[@frasercain]

What do you mean? Audio only with graphics? Or the content of the interviews?

[@jns9023]

Try out both😂 Have a good Day sir

[@savagesarethebest7251]

5:46 "Unique flavors of Methane". I can only attest to the fact that it tastes like a fart.. Please don't ask me any follow up questions on that

[@interstellarsurfer]

Take a shot every time someone says methane. 🥃