Yes, Chiron has rings! This was discovered in 2011 when astronomers observed Chiron passing in front of a star.
The observation revealed that this centaur (an icy planetary body orbiting between Jupiter and Neptune) has at least two narrow rings, similar to but much smaller than those of Saturn.
The rings are about 3 and 7 kilometers wide and are located at distances of 324 and 334 kilometers from Chiron’s center.
This discovery was quite significant as Chiron became only the sixth known ringed object in our solar system, after Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and another centaur called Chariklo.
The discovery of Chiron’s rings came as a surprise to astronomers and tells us something fascinating about ring systems in our solar system. The rings were found when Chiron passed in front of a star (an event called a stellar occultation) on November 29, 2011.
As Chiron moved in front of the star, astronomers noticed symmetric dips in the star’s brightness before and after the main occultation, which indicated the presence of rings.
What’s particularly interesting is that these rings might not be stable long-term features. Chiron has a rather chaotic orbit that brings it relatively close to the giant planets, especially Saturn and Uranus.
These close encounters could potentially disrupt the rings. This has led to some theories that the rings might be temporary, possibly formed from material ejected by Chiron’s cometary activity (it’s known to have periodic outbursts) or from a past collision.
Another intriguing aspect is that both known ringed centaurs (Chiron and Chariklo) have similar ring structures, suggesting there might be a common mechanism for ring formation among these types of bodies.
This challenges our previous understanding that only giant planets could maintain ring systems.
The rings may be composed of water ice and rocky material, similar to the composition of Saturn’s rings, though at a much smaller scale. The discovery of these rings has also led astronomers to wonder if other centaurs might have ring systems that we haven’t detected yet.