Discovery of Asteroid With 2 Rings - Centaur Chariklo

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SUMMARY

The European Southern Observatory has confirmed the discovery of rings around the asteroid Chariklo, located 1.4 billion miles from Earth. Chariklo is classified as a Centaur, a group of asteroids orbiting between Saturn and Uranus. This groundbreaking finding was published in the journal Nature and challenges existing theories about ring formation, typically associated with gas giants. The method used to observe these rings involved occulting a star, presenting a novel approach to studying planetary rings.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of celestial mechanics and asteroid classification
  • Familiarity with the Centaur class of asteroids
  • Knowledge of observational astronomy techniques, particularly occultation
  • Basic comprehension of planetary ring formation theories
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the classification and characteristics of Centaur asteroids
  • Study the methods of occultation in observational astronomy
  • Explore the implications of ring formation theories in smaller celestial bodies
  • Read the published findings in the journal Nature regarding Chariklo's rings
USEFUL FOR

Astronomers, astrophysicists, and space enthusiasts interested in the dynamics of celestial bodies and the formation of planetary rings.

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"The European Southern Observatory announced this week the discovery of rings around an asteroid 1.4 billion miles from Earth. Chariklo is the largest of the class of asteroids orbiting the sun between Saturn and Uranus known as Centaurs. Results were published online today in the journal Nature."

Another link: http://aerospace.firetrench.com/201...double-ring-system-around-asteroid-like-body/
 
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Astronomy news on Phys.org
Very Cool. we were just discussing Rings in another thread and why they are typical of Gas Giants but not smaller bodies. Very interesting to read about this.
 
DHF said:
Very Cool. we were just discussing Rings in another thread and why they are typical of Gas Giants but not smaller bodies. Very interesting to read about this.

Nature is a wondrous place, and Man is developing new tools of exploration, it is a pleasure to say. :smile:

This novel way of observing rings by occulting a star with a centaur might be hard to repeat. It will interesting to see how it affects discussion of planetary rings.
 

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