Astronomers have observed changes in the rings surrounding Chariklo, a small body orbiting between Saturn and Uranus. A recent study using the James Webb Space Telescope revealed that one ring has become denser while the other has almost disappeared. The observations were made by analyzing the dimming of starlight as Chariklo passed in front of a star.
In 2013, astronomers discovered that Chariklo, a body barely 250 kilometers across, possessed two narrow rings, designated C1R and C2R. This discovery was unexpected, as rings were previously thought to exist only around giant planets. The rings are located 390 and 405 kilometers from Chariklo’s center, are only a few kilometers wide, and are approximately 7 kilometers apart.
The technique used to observe Chariklo involves predicting when the object will pass in front of a star. The resulting dimming of the starlight reveals information about the size, shape, and surroundings of the object. “We predict when a Solar System object passes in front of a star,” says Pablo Santos-Sanz, an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Granada, Spain. “The starlight dims for a moment, and the shape of that dip reveals the size, shape, and surroundings of the object that caused it.” Santos-Sanz added that this is “particularly challenging for minor bodies, and more challenging for distant minor bodies” due to the minuscule size of the target’s silhouette and the need for precise positioning data.
The recent observations with the James Webb Space Telescope showed that one of Chariklo’s rings had grown denser, while the other had almost vanished. The reason for these changes is currently unknown.
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