What makes asteroid Chariklo so special ?
By NICOLE OLIVEIRA DE L SEMIÃO
Guest contributor
On February 15 , 1997 , the asteroid Chariklo was discovered by American astronomer Jame Vernon Scotti . We know then that the asteroid Chariklo completes a revolution around the sun every 62 years and a revolution on its own axis every 7 hours . With a diameter of 250 kilometers , it is the largest centaur-type asteroid and the smallest known object to have rings . That ’ s right , the asteroid Chariklo has rings ! But do you know what centaur objects are ? They are objects that pass through the solar system in unstable orbits and sometimes appear like comets and in other orbits like asteroids . Now , shall we talk about Chariklo ’ s rings ? In 2013 the asteroid Chariklo passed in front of a faint star and unexpected decreases in the brightness of this star revealed its rings . Using the technique of occultation of stars with the help of 13 telescopes located in Brazil , Chile and Uruguay , Brazilian astronomer Felipe Braga Ribas led the team that made the discovery of Chariklo ’ s rings . Its rings measure 7 kilometers and 2 kilometers wide and were named Oiapoque the densest and Chuí the smallest and least dense . In 2014 , the article with the complete description of this great discovery was published in the journal Nature .
Reference : Nature Magazine 508 , 72-75 ( 2014 )
upcoming astronomical events :
IMAGE COURTESY OF ESO / L . Calçada / M . Kornmesser / Nick Risinger (
skysurvey . org )
CAPTION CREDIT : https :// www . eso . org / public / images / eso1410b /
Observations at many sites in South America , including ESO ’ s La Silla Observatory , have made the surprise discovery that the remote asteroid Chariklo is surrounded by two dense and narrow rings . This artist ’ s impression shows a close-up of what the rings might look like . The origin of these rings remains a mystery , but they may be the result of a collision that created a disc of debris .
n n n Nicole Oliveira ( Nicolinha ) is 9 years old . She is an amateur astronomer , science popularizer and NASA / IASC Citizen Scientist , ambassador for Planetarium Rubens de Azevedo and Alliance Explore . For her work in Astronomy , she received national and international recognition . She founded the online Science Club Nicolinha & kids .
( All times in Universal Time – UT )
July 2022
28 — New Moon 28-29 — Peak of Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower
August 2022
5 — First Quarter Moon 12 — Full Moon 12-13 — Peak of Perseids Meteor Shower 14 — Saturn at Opposition 19 — Last Quarter Moon 27 — New Moon 27 — Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation
September 2022 3 — First Quarter Moon
10 — Full Moon 16 — Neptune at Opposition 17 — Last Quarter Moon 23 — September Equinox at 00:55h a . m . 25 — New Moon 26 — Jupiter at Opposition
October 2022 3 — First Quarter Moon 7 — Peak of Draconids Meteor Shower 8 — Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation 9 — Full Moon 17 — Last Quarter Moon 21-22 — Peak of Orionids Meteor Shower 25 — New Moon
13