Transformation of Mysterious Object Trapped Between Saturn and Uranus

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Source: Livescience.com
Transformation of Mysterious Object Trapped Between Saturn and Uranus
Photo: Livescience.com
TL;DR Summary

The Centaur object 2060 Chiron, located between Saturn and Uranus, has been found to have a transforming disk of dust around it that changes shape and can mimic rings. Observations during stellar occultations in 2011 and 2018 revealed the presence of dusty material at different distances from Chiron's center, suggesting an evolving system rather than stable rings. Another occultation in 2022 detected three symmetrical structures forming a wide disk around Chiron. The origin and composition of this material remain unknown, but it is likely to come from Chiron itself. These findings also raise questions about the nature of the structures around another Centaur, Chariklo.

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