A recent discovery by NASA’s Hubble telescope has revealed a rare triple-asteroid system in the Kuiper Belt, challenging current theories of planetary formation. The Altjira system, 3.7 billion miles from the Sun, was initially thought to be a two-body system but appears to have a third, undiscovered asteroid.
This discovery could rewrite our understanding of how objects in the Kuiper Belt formed and evolved over time. The unique three-body orbit of Altjira’s trio may offer new insights into the long-standing problem of the three-body problem in physics.
The finding also provides an opportunity for astronomers to study one of the solar system’s most mysterious regions. With only a handful of known triple-asteroid systems, Altjira is a rare and under-explored cosmic laboratory that may hold clues to the formation of the solar system’s earliest building blocks.
As the three bodies in the Altjira system align over the next decade, astronomers will have a chance to unlock its secrets and gain new insights into the mysteries of our solar system.
Source: https://www.businesstoday.in/visualstories/news/a-new-kuiper-belt-mystery-hubble-reveals-an-asteroid-system-like-no-other-214849-07-03-2025