(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists have discovered a new ring system around a dwarf planet at the edge of the solar system.
Its ring system rotates much farther than usual, which calls into question the current theories of the formation of these systems.
A ring system has been discovered on a dwarf planet called Quaoar, which is about half the size of Pluto and orbits the sun past Neptune.
The discovery, published in Nature, was made by an international team of astronomers using HiPERCAM, an extremely sensitive high-speed camera developed by scientists at the University of Sheffield.
It is installed on the world‘s largest optical telescope Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) with a diameter of 10.4 meters.
The rings are too small and dim to be seen directly in the image. The researchers made their discovery by observing an eclipse during which light from a background star was blocked by Quaoar orbiting the sun.
The event lasted less than a minute. Before and after it were two dips in illumination, indicating the presence of a ring system around Quaoar.
Ring systems are relatively rare in the solar system. The rings around the giant planets Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune are well known.
Ring systems also surround Chariklo and Haumea. All previously known ring systems orbit close to the parent body, so tidal forces prevent the ring material from coalescing and forming moons.
The ring system around Quaoar is notable for being located more than seven planetary radii apart twice as far as what was previously thought to be the maximum radius according to the so-called “Roche limit.”
By comparison, Saturn’s main rings lie within three planetary radii. Thus, this discovery forced a rethinking of theories of ring formation.
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