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

    02/09/2023 6:03:32 PM PST · by BenLurkin · 21 replies
    Space.com ^ | 02/08/2023 | Tereza Pultarova
    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...