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The Webb telescope reveals one of the strangest objects in the solar system

The Webb telescope reveals one of the strangest objects in the solar system

NASA’s James Webb Telescope is giving scientists a closer look at the asteroid Chariklo to throw. applies because rings As one of the strangest objects in our solar system.

The only asteroid with rings

After the planets Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, Chariklo is the fifth celestial body in our solar system where rings have been discovered. Astronomers discovered the rings for the first time 2013, as Chariklo passed in front of a distant star. In October 2022, Spanish space explorer Pablo Santos Sanz takes advantage of the new James Webb TelescopeTo display such an event again.

The video shows Chaiklo passing in front of the star Gaia DR3 6873519665992128512. However, the asteroid between Saturn and Uranus can only be seen as a group of pixels.

However, this is enough for NASA researchers to learn more about it management explore. “If we take a closer look at the data, we can see the thickness of the rings, the size and color of the ring particles, and much more,” Santos-Saenz explains in one send.

This is how Chariklo rings are measured.

This is how Chariklo rings are measured.

300 kilometers in size

Therefore, Chariklo’s episodes consist mainly of ice and dark particles that could have come from another asteroid collision. Chariklo itself is round in diameter 300 km. However, this is not large enough to see its rings clearly with the James Webb telescope.

This is about 7 or 3 kilometers thick It has a diameter of 391 and 405 kilometers, respectively. The rings are only separated from each other by a narrow gap. It is also suspected that Chariklo has remains undiscovered Moon Shepherd which stabilizes the rings by their gravity.

More asteroids with rings

2015 and 2017 were with Chiron and Haumea Discover 2 more asteroids with ring systems. To discover them, the drop of light from a star was measured again as they passed in front of it.

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