The Lords of the Rings among centaurs

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the characteristics and formation of ring systems around celestial bodies, particularly focusing on the minimum size required for such rings to develop. Participants explore theoretical aspects related to the gravitational influence of objects and their shapes, as well as implications for minor planets like Chariklo.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Technical explanation, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question whether there is a minimum size for an object to develop rings, suggesting that smaller objects may have irregular shapes that affect their ability to maintain orbiting debris.
  • One participant proposes that as an object's size decreases, its Hill sphere also shrinks, potentially leading to a point where the irregular shape significantly impacts the formation of orbits around it.
  • Another participant notes that the radius of the Hill sphere is proportional to the object's radius at a given density, indicating that scaling up an object while maintaining its shape would not change the gravitational influence at the Hill sphere's boundary.
  • It is mentioned that smaller objects typically exhibit more irregular shapes, which could complicate the dynamics of ring formation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the relationship between object size, shape, and the formation of rings, indicating that the discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing perspectives.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include assumptions about density and shape, as well as the dependence on gravitational dynamics that may not be fully explored in the discussion.

PF_SpaceNews
The Lords of the Rings among centaurs

(Phys.org)—Chariklo, the largest known centaur object, orbiting in a region between Saturn and Uranus, is a very intriguing celestial body that surprised astronomers last year. This remote minor planet has unveiled the existence of its rings during a stellar occultation, when it passed in front of a star UCAC4 248-108672. Astronomer José Luis Ortiz from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia in Spain, who was a member of the team that made the discovery, assumes that the ring systems on other minor objects in the solar system could be more common than we think.

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Greg Bernhardt said:
Is there a minimum size of an object for rings to develop?
Well, as an object gets smaller, it can be irregularly shaped while at the same time the distance at which a it can hold to orbiting objects ( its Hill sphere) also shrinks. Thus I would assume that if you go small enough, there will be point that the Hill sphere will shrink into that region where the irregular shape of the object has significant effect on orbiting objects and it will not have any zone where orbits can form.
 
The radius of the Hill sphere for smaller objects is proportional to their radius (at a given density). If we scale the object up and keep the shape the same, the influence of the higher moments of its gravitational field at the border of the Hill sphere will stay the same. The same is true for the Roche limit.

Smaller objects tend to have more irregular shapes, however.
 

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