Celestial Body –Chiron

Celestial Body –Chiron Latest News

Recently, astronomers for the first time observed a ring system formation around icy celestial body Chiron.

About Celestial Body –Chiron

• Chiron is part of a class of objects called centaurs (which populate the outer solar system between Jupiter and Neptune), displaying characteristics of both asteroids and comets.
• It was discovered in 1977 by astronomer Charles Kowal.

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Features of Celestial Body –Chiron

• It has a diameter of about 200 kilometers (125 miles) and takes about 50 years to complete one orbit around the sun.
• Ring system: Its observations clearly showed that it is surrounded by well-defined 4 rings. The three inner rings are embedded within dust swirling around in a disk-like shape.
• These rings are likely composed mainly of water ice mixed with small amounts of rocky material, like those of Saturn. 
• Composition: It mainly consists of rock, water ice and complex organic compounds.
• Chiron exhibits occasional comet-like activity – ejecting gas and dust into space.
• A method called stellar occultation was used by a team including Brazilian, French and Spanish researchers to observe the rings. 

Source: DD News