A dwarf planet beyond Neptune has a mysterious ring that astronomers can't explain

Space.com ^ | 02/08/2023 | Tereza Pultarova

[BenLurkin]

Quaoar is one of the so-called trans-Neptunian objects, small planets orbiting beyond the solar system's outermost planet Neptune.

Quaoar is a proud owner of its own moon, the 100-mile-wide Weywot. And a recent observation campaign revealed that it also has a ring of material in its orbit.

Quaoar's ring is at a very unusual distance from its parent body. In fact, before astronomers discovered Quaoar's ring in observations from several telescopes conducted between 2018 and 2021, they had thought that it was impossible for a ring to exist at such a distance. With a radius of about 2,420 miles from Quaoar's center, the ring is too far away from the dwarf planet that its gravity should no longer be able to keep the material dispersed. Instead, it should coalesce under its own gravity and form another moon, just like Weywot. By not having done that, the ring has breached what astronomers call the Roche limit, the first known ring around a celestial body to have done so.

The ring was discovered during a series of occultations...when Quaoar passed between Earth and several more distant but much brighter stars. When an occultation occurs, the light of the background star temporarily dims. The effect is only visible to very sensitive telescopes and is frequently used to detect exoplanets orbiting stars in our Milky Way galaxy...

When astronomers analyzed the data, they realized that apart from the main dip in the background stars' brightness, they could detect two smaller drops. Since drops occurred before and after the main occultation, respectively, the researchers thought that Quaoar must be surrounded with a ring.

Now astronomers have to either rethink the Roche limit or come up with another explanation for the existence of Quaoar's ring.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Anyone got any ideas? Maybe it saw Saturn and is playing copy-cat.

[Billthedrill]

Here for the replies. Because you know where this is going.

[HighSierra5]

I guess there’s more rings around your anus than we thought.

[Beowulf9]

Space. It does not run out of surprises!

[Bikkuri]

You’re not thinking about Uranus again... R U?!

And, I don’t care WHAT Obunghole said... Pluto is STILL a planet.

[Beowulf9]

The copy you have in the above post does not match the copy of the article?

But from the article if you follow the link:

“A mini-planet orbiting in the frigid outer reaches of the solar system...”

which prompted me to remember years ago I read that the temperature in outer space is everywhere an even 70 Degrees! I’m not kidding! I DID read that!

So I looked up ‘what is the temperature in outer space’ just to see what it was because the article said ‘in the frigid outer reaches of the solar system’ and THIS is what I found:

“The temperature in outer space is generally 2.73 Kelvin (-270.42 Celsius, -454.75 Fahrenheit)”.

A bit colder than 70 degrees.

Did they USED to think it was all 70 degrees or was I on sum bum website?

[TangoLimaSierra]

My ignorant guess would be either the dwarf planet is super dense and/or the ring material is very light.

[Repeal The 17th]

Well, it ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it’s cold as hell.

[Migraine]

It must be the remnants of the ring around Uranus.

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“Dwarf planet” is out.

They are now referred to as Little Planets.

[struggle]

>They are now referred to as Little Planets.

"I call them midget planets, I know all the celebrities refer to them as "little planets, but I like to think all of them are just planets, though some are small and have weird-looking moons"

[neverevergiveup]

Celestially challenged planets.

[central_va]

Isn’t there a ring around Uranus?

[alexander_busek]

Did they USED to think it was all 70 degrees or was I on sum bum website?

Bum website!

But remember also that the definition of the temperature of a virtual vacuum will differ somewhat from the definition of a medium.

I suggest that you read up on the subject.

Regards,

[poconopundit]

“Dwarf planet” is out. They are now referred to as Little Planets.

* * *

In San Francisco "dwarf planets" are also out, but at least there are 60 planet pronouns to describe the genders of the dwarf planets, so assigning a correct name shouldn't be a big issue once its location is found.

Of course, since the planet's gender is still unknown, it's best to refer to the lost small planet as a "size-challenged" one.

NOTE: Though I am neither an astronomer nor astrologer, I can say with roulette wheel confidence that dark matter and black holes are the answer to this dwarf planet mystery.

If astronomers can get the public to believe the accuracy of their black hole analyses at the reach-out-and-touch-some-galaxy range of 1,600 light YEARS (distance to the closed black hole.), solving the mystery planet problem should be a piece of cake.

All that's required is to explain the dark forces at work at only 4 light-HOURS away (34 million [average] miles to Neptune). It's as easy as writing a press release and photo-shopping some full-color "photos" of the mysterious (gender-and-location-to-be-determined) planet, plus pulling out of thin air (AKA outer space) an unverifiable theory on why the mini-black hole is causing the mischief.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin.

· join · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark ·
· post new topic · subscribe ·

Google news searches: exoplanet · exosolar · extrasolar ·

[snip] Quaoar is a proud owner of its own moon, the 100-mile-wide Weywot. And a recent observation campaign revealed that it also has a ring of material in its orbit... before astronomers discovered Quaoar's ring in observations from several telescopes conducted between 2018 and 2021, they had thought that it was impossible for a ring to exist at such a distance [from the parent body]... Instead, it should coalesce under its own gravity and form another moon, just like Weywot. By not having done that, the ring has breached what astronomers call the Roche limit, the first known ring around a celestial body to have done so. [/snip]

Quaoar is far enough out that most of the time it is by itself more or less, so it has a larger sphere of influence than larger bodies closer to the Sun. That's also the likely explanation for how it acquired a moon. Also, until a probe visits, there's no way to determine the age of the ring and whether it arose from an impact on Quaoar (good stupid name, btw, imho) and therefore the gravel hasn't had time to bunch up. Probably, there has to be one body in a ring that of debris that is larger (probably a good bit larger) than all the other bits, but mathematically (and given enough time) random interactions can also do the job, AFAIK.

Sidebar:

• Earth Must Have Another Moon, Say Astronomers [12/22/2011]

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks BenLurkin, nice twofer.

---

join or quit view topics view or post blog bookmark post new topic subscribe

---

[SunkenCiv]

Three of the keywords (guess which ones!), edited a little, sorted:

• Red Planet Impact: Huge Moons May Have Crashed Into Mars [07/04/2016]
• Mars Will Become a Ringed Planet When Phobos Dies [11/23/2015]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars [11/22/2015]
• Mars' Moon Phobos Undergoing 'Structural Failure' [11/10/2015]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Phobos 360 [12/24/2013]
• Is Phobos a Mined Asteroid? A Sitchinite's Take on the Hollow Object [03/13/2013]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Stickney Crater [01/18/2013]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day -- Phobos: Doomed Moon of Mars [10/28/2012]
• Search on for Death Star that throws out deadly comets.. [03/19/2010]
• Is Stickney Crater an Impact Feature? (Conventional wisdom among astronomers is wrong...) [04/17/2008]
• Tenth Planet Has a Moon! [10/22/2005]
• Far-out worlds, just waiting to be found [07/20/2005]
• Red Planet's Ancient Equator Located [04/24/2005]
• Pioneer [gravitational] anomaly put to the test [09/27/2004]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day 01-04-04 [01/03/2004]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day 11-29-03 [11/29/2003]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day 10-24-03 [10/23/2003]
• New Theory: Catastrophe Created Mars' Moons [07/29/2003]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day 7-01-03 [07/01/2003]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day 4-06-03 [04/05/2003]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day 3-29-03 [03/28/2003]
• Astronomy Picture of the Day 10-09-02 [10/09/2002]
• Out Beyond Pluto, Astronomers Find Something New [10/07/2002]
• If this is not 'Planet X', what is it? (biggest solar system body found in more than 70 years) [10/07/2002]
• Long-Destroyed Fifth Planet May Have Caused Lunar Cataclysm, Researchers Say [03/25/2002]

[JimRed]

They killed Pluto!