- Chiron is a remarkable planet from the centaur group
- It was revealed years ago that it behaves like a comet
A mysterious object orbiting between Saturn and Uranus is evolving unusually, baffled scientists say. It is surrounded by material that changes shape and even seems to mimic rings at times. It’s called 2060 Chiron, and astronomers say it’s a remarkable centaur planet that behaves like a comet, among other oddities.
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It changes shape in a strange way
The object (first observed in 1977) is surrounded by material orbiting around it. It was previously thought to be a set of two rings. However, after repeated observations, it became clear that this material is unstable and is currently “evolving interestingly”.
Normally, we would expect material orbiting around small objects to dissipate quickly, the researchers say. But (2060) Chiron is unique and perhaps the only observed object in the universe that has enough material to mimic rings, but with a structure that changes over just a few years.
“There is material orbiting Chiron that evolves on relatively short timescales,” said Planetary Science Institute Principal Scientist Amanda Sickafoose.
“Past observations of stellar eclipses have detected material around Chiron’s core that was thought to be a cluster of surrounding debris. The 2011 data were interpreted as a two-ring system, similar to that discovered at Chariklo. However, the 2018 observation is inconsistent with this theory.”
Is it a comet or an asteroid? No, it’s Chiron!
Scientists followed the planet Chiron in 2020 and everything was completely different again. Apparently, these are not stable rings, but rather a cloud of material that is unexpectedly evolving.
Chiron is classified as a centaur, a small body in a “chaotic orbit” between Jupiter and Neptune that crosses the orbit of at least one of the planets. Little is known about the exact origin of the centaurs, but it is possible that they came from the outer parts of the solar system – the region beyond Neptune and Pluto, the so-called Kuiper belt.
Astronomers use occultations when observing, i.e. situations where Chiron covers a star in the background. “This is a great way to measure the sizes and shapes of smaller objects in our Solar System,” the experts conclude.
Preview photo source: ESO / NASA, source: The Sun
2024-01-01 09:35:36
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