When one cogitate of ring in quad , the mind goes immediately to Saturn and its remarkable ring social system . Jupiter , Uranus , and Neptune also have rings , so uranologist thought they were a characteristic of very large planet . But more recent discoveries put that into question . Small body have rings too , and now researchers have intercourse how they maintain them .
Asteroid Chariklo and gnome satellite Haumea both have rings despite lacking sure characteristics that were thought to make rings stable , such as little shepherd moon to equilibrise out gravitational forces . As reported inNature Astronomy , it is the unpaired form of these two objects that make them keep their rings . The irregularities of Chariklo and the unusual flatness of Haumea forestall the anchor ring from dot .
“ Rings come along around Saturn , Jupiter , Neptune , and Uranus , but scientist found rings around Chariklo and Haumea within the last few years . Chariklo and Haumea were the first small target known to have hoop , and we opine that rings throughout the Solar System are more unwashed than we thought , ” co - author Dr Maryame El Moutamid , from the Cornell Center for Astrophysics and Planetary Science , said in astatement . “ In the case of small bodies Chariklo and Haumea , solemnity shepherd the rings . The rings are confine by the gravity because of the pattern irregularity of their bodies . ”
Chariklo is a rocky , oddly shaped object and a member of the centaur pocket-size planet . If it was a sphere it would have a diameter of 252 kilometers ( 156 miles ) , but its dimension change between 200 and 300 kilometers ( 124 - 188 miles ) . Researchers also suspect the presence of a large peck could be altering the gravitative field grow by the object .
Haumea , named after the Hawaiian goddess of fertility and childbirth , is an extremely elongated and tight - whirl object . It rotates on itself every four 60 minutes and this constituent play a persona in its singular ellipsoidal form . One of its axes is twice as long as the other .
These curio appear to be key to the stability of the halo . Chariklo even has two . Given that more steady cast are a prerogative of the most massive objects in the Solar System , there could be many ringed body orbit the Sun . Astronomers have suspected that Chiron , another centaur , has rings as well , and this employment gives theoretical financial backing to that approximation .
