Quaoar is a classical trans-Neptunian object with an equivalent diameter of 1,100 km.
Quaoar was discovered on June 4, 2002 by California Institute of Technology astronomers Michael Brown and Chadwick Trujillo using images from the Palomar telescope.
Like the dwarf planet Pluto, this object dwells in the Kuiper Belt, an icy debris field of comet-like bodies.
It orbits at 45.1-45.6 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun and has an orbital period of 284.5 years.
Also known as 2002 LM60, Quaoar has one known moon, Weywot, that orbits at 24 Quaoar radii and has a diameter of about 80 km (50 miles).
Quaoar’s first ring, named Q1R, was detected during several stellar occultations observed between 2018 and 2021.
The new observations show that Quaoar’s ring system is more complex than previously thought.
“Rings are structures that attract people’s attention, especially the majestic rings of Saturn,” said Chrystian Luciano Pereira, a Ph.D. student at Brazil’s Observatório Nacional.
“Our work demonstrates that small bodies have rings that are even more curious than those observed on giant planets.”
“In addition, our work includes the participation of citizen astronomers, who helped make this unexpected astronomical discovery.”
On August 9, 2022, Pereira and his colleagues observed a stellar occultation to better understand the Q1R ring discovered a few months prior.
With the high-resolution imaging power of the ‘Alopeke instrument on Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, they were able to detect tiny variations in the star’s light as it passed behind Quaoar’s thin and tenuous ring system.
During these observations, the team was surprised when they unintentionally discovered a second ring, named Q2R, orbiting in between Quaoar and Q1R.
Unlike the rings observed around Chariklo, Haumea, and the four giant planets, Quaoar’s rings lie in a region well beyond what is known as the Roche…
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