New Ring System Discovered Around Distant Centaur Chiron
PICO DOS โDIAS OBSERVATORY, BRAZIL – Astronomers have detectedโ a newly formed ring system around Chiron, a celestial body orbiting between โJupiter and Neptune. Observations madeโข in September 2023 at tehโข Picoโข dos Dias Observatory in Brazil โrevealed the presence of expansive discs of material extending up to 1,400 kilometers from Chiron’s center -โ a distance exceeding the โฃexpected Roche limit โฃwhere particles should coalesce into moons.
Chiron, approximately 200 kilometers in diameter, is classified asโค a centaur: an object โขexhibitingโ characteristics of both asteroids and โคcomets. Discovered inโ 1977,Chiron โhas โฃpreviously shown โขperiods of increased brightness โฃand sporadic tail-like formations,indicating surface activity.
While three main rings around โChiron have remained stable for over a decadeโค – confirmed by dataโค from 2011, โข2018, andโค 2022โ – theโฃ latest observations show a significantโ expansion of the ring system, with the newly detectedโค discs believed to have formedโฃ within theโฃ last 10 years. Researchersโค theorize the expansion may be the result of a collision โขor an โคice eruptionโ releasing material into orbit.
“This was a pleasant surprise,” saeid Chrystian Pereira,the study’s lead โresearcher. “This reminds us โฃthat the โฃsolar โsystem is constantly changing,even on human time scales.”
The detection of material beyond the Roche limit isโค notably โintriguing. โ”This is โthe first timeโฃ weโ have found material in โคthis region,” Pereira added, emphasizing theโฃ need for further confirmation.โข
Possible explanations for this unusual configuration include ongoing comet-like โขactivity originating beneath Chiron’s surface or โคthe fragmentation of โa โsmall moon. Keighley rockcliffe, a researcher from NASA โGoddard space flight center, suggests the particles may be prevented โfrom โmerging due to an unkown factor, or that โคthe ring system is simply tooโค young to haveโ formed satellites.
Astronomers are continuing to monitor Chiron’s passage in frontโข of distant stars to observeโ potential changes in the ring structure. Pereira believesโค a dedicated space mission to directly examine Chiron woudl be the most effective way to โฃfully understand the โprocesses at play.
