![]() ![]() Astronomers believed that rings beyond the Roche limit would coalesce into a small moon in just a few decades. This has sparked new discussions about how that could be possible. ![]() This theory has long been supported by scientific observations of other rings around Saturn, Chariklo, and Haumea.īut the ring on Quaoar? It’s more than twice as large as that limit. The observations reveal Quaoar’s ring to be much further away from the planet than usual, raising new questions about how rings form.Īny celestial object with an appreciable gravitational field will have a limit within which an approaching celestial object will be pulled to pieces, the European Space Agency explained. Faculty of STEM, The Open University February 8, 2023 “These are the most unusual rings we’ve seen.”Īn international team of astronomers, including OU researchers Ulrich Kolb and Richard Busuttil, have discovered a ring around the distant dwarf planet Quaoar – a ring that should not exist.įind out more about this amazing discovery! /LhfS7BNxtu “The ring came as a real surprise and doubly surprising was where it was, well outside the theoretical maximum for where a ring can survive according to classical theory,” co-author Vik Dhillon of the University of Sheffield told The Guardian. According to findings published in Nature on Wednesday, they also recorded two smaller dips in starlight before and after - indicating a ring system.Īnd not just any ring system, but a far wider ring than astronomers had believed possible. But astronomers didn’t just spot the small planet during their observation. It’s called an occultation event, meaning the planet’s sharp silhouette can be briefly observed by telescopes. Astronomers watched as Quaoar passed in front of a succession of distant stars in the viewing field, briefly blocking out their light. The European Space Agency caught rare glimpses of it through its space-based telescope Cheops. The Pluto-sized celestial body is called Quaoar, and it orbits in the Kuiper Belt, just beyond Neptune. ![]() It has led them to reexamine the physics of these cosmic wonders. More accurately, it’s the size of the dwarf planet’s ring that has confounded astronomers. In the far reaches of our solar system, scientists have discovered a ringed planet that should not exist. ![]()
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