Smaller solar-system body may sport Saturn-like rings
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028717
Los Angeles Times : Centaurs, which are a relatively recent classification of a type of solar-system body, are a cross between an asteroid and a comet and orbit the Sun between Jupiter and Neptune. Not much is known about their origins, nor have any ever been photographed up close. In 2011, however, researchers were able to observe one such centaur, named Chiron, as it passed in front of a bright star. Chiron’s shadow indicated that the centaur is surrounded by an “optically thick material,” which astronomers propose could be a system of rings, like those that surround Saturn. Only five other bodies in our solar system are known to have rings, and it wasn’t thought that smaller bodies, like Chiron, would have them. Further observations will be necessary to support the theory.
