StarAvisStarAvisStarAvis
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Literature
  • Science

Archives

  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021

Categories

  • Articles
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Arts & Design
  • Biography
  • Books
  • Business
  • Celebrities
  • Economy
  • Editorial
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environment
  • Europe News
  • Fact check
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • Health Care
  • History
  • Internet
  • Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Marketing
  • Medication
  • Movies
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Personal Finance
  • Podcast
  • Politics
  • Science
  • SEO
  • Sports
  • Technology
  • Top 10
  • Travel
  • TV
  • U.K News
  • U.S. News
  • World News
Reading: Ring discovered around dwarf planet Quaoar
Share
Notification Show More
Aa
StarAvisStarAvis
Aa
  • World
  • Travel
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Technology
  • Fashion
  • Home
    • Home 1
    • Home 2
    • Home 3
    • Home 4
    • Home 5
  • Categories
    • Technology
    • Opinion
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • World
    • Science
    • Health
  • Bookmarks
  • More Foxiz
    • Sitemap
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© 2022 Foxiz News Network. Ruby Design Company. All Rights Reserved.
StarAvis > Latest > News > Ring discovered around dwarf planet Quaoar
NewsScience

Ring discovered around dwarf planet Quaoar

StarAvis Desk
Last updated: 2023/02/08 at 8:51 PM
StarAvis Desk Published February 8, 2023
Share
4 Min Read
The rings are outside the theoretical maximum. Photograph: University of Sheffield / Nature
SHARE

Astronomers find ring much further away from planet than is normal, leaving them wondering how it remains stable

Astronomers have spotted a ring around a Pluto-sized dwarf planet called Quaoar in the outer reaches of the solar system.

The observations, by a powerful telescope on La Palma, reveal the ring to be much further away from the planet than is typical, calling into question how such systems form.

Prof Vik Dhillon, of the University of Sheffield’s department of physics and astronomy, and his co-authors, said: “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. These are the most unusual rings we’ve seen.”

The dwarf planet, which orbits beyond Neptune, is too distant and the ring too narrow to be seen directly. The detection was made during a so-called occultation event, when a planet passes directly in front of a star, meaning its sharp silhouette can be briefly observed by Earth-based telescopes.

“Astronomers who work in this area predict these occultations to the second, years in advance,” said Dhillon. “One of these was predicted and we were on the observatory on La Palma.”

The observations, by the HiPERCAM telescope, showed a sharp dip in starlight as Quaoar passed in front of the star. Intriguingly, two smaller dips, before and after, were also observed, which the astronomers realised indicated the presence of a ring system.

The ring is located at a distance of more than seven planetary radii, twice as far out as what was previously thought to be the maximum radius, known as the Roche limit. Inside the Roche limit, the planet exerts strong tidal forces that prevent debris in the ring amalgamating into a moon.

The ring is around Quaoar, a Pluto-sized dwarf planet orbiting beyond Neptune. Photograph: University of Sheffield / Nature

Beyond this threshold, the local gravity of the debris plays a greater role, meaning that denser regions of rock and ice tend to clump together, which in turn leads to even more debris gravitating towards the clump. This snowball effect is predicted, by current theories, to lead to the formation of a moonlet within decades.

The latest observations confound these theories and the team are exploring various possibilities for how the distant ring could remain stable. One idea is that the debris is “less sticky”, meaning that fragments in the ring are more likely to bounce off each other during collisions.

“If they have a really frosty ice coating then you can get quite an elastic collision, like hailstones colliding rather than snowflakes,” said Dhillon. “Everyone learns about Saturn’s magnificent rings when they’re a child, so hopefully this new finding will provide further insight into how they came to be.”

The findings are published in the journal Nature.

SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN

Follow us on Google News

You Might Also Like

NATO Chief Warns of Prolonged Conflict in Ukraine

Iranian Protests Mark the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death

The Journey to Derna: A Tale of Devastation and Despair

Key Takeaways from the Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong-un Summit

Race Against Time: Innovative Measures Launched to Rescue Florida Keys Amid Coral Bleaching Crisis

Share This Article
Twitter Email Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article Turkey and Syria: 2,300 people dead after earthquakes
Next Article US shoots down ‘octagonal’ flying object
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You Might Also Like

NATO Chief Warns of Prolonged Conflict in Ukraine
News

NATO Chief Warns of Prolonged Conflict in Ukraine

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued a cautionary message, emphasizing that the war in Ukraine may endure for an extended…

4 Min Read
Iranian Protests Mark the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini's Death
World News

Iranian Protests Mark the First Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death

Iran witnessed widespread protests on Saturday as people commemorated the first anniversary of the tragic death of Mahsa Amini. The…

3 Min Read
The Journey to Derna: A Tale of Devastation and Despair
News

The Journey to Derna: A Tale of Devastation and Despair

Once a picturesque drive from Benghazi, the road to the Libyan city of Derna has become a haunting ordeal. Fields…

5 Min Read
Key Takeaways from the Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong-un Summit
Politics

Key Takeaways from the Vladimir Putin-Kim Jong-un Summit

Meeting in Russia's Far East Raises Concerns In a recent summit between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, the United States…

4 Min Read
StarAvis StarAvis White

News

  • World
  • Advertise

Technology

  • Innovate
  • Gadget
  • PC hardware
  • Review
  • Software

Health

  • Medicine
  • Children
  • Coronavirus
  • Nutrition
  • Disease

Culture

  • Stars
  • Screen
  • Culture
  • Media
  • Videos

More

  • Fashion
  • Travel
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Health

Subscribe

  • Google News
  • Digital Subscription
  • Games
  • Cooking
Copyright 2011-2023 © StarAvis Network. All Rights Reserved.
 

Loading Comments...
 

    Welcome Back!

    Sign in to your account

    Lost your password?