ESO will make a press conference to Announce Discovery in Outer Solar System!

jimbxb
reply to post by Soylent Green Is People

 

Question 1.) How long do comets last?

They last, ever

So long you have to take out the four

Cool new video from ESO:



ESOcast 64: First Ring System Around Asteroid

This ESOcast shows how 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 is the smallest object by far found to have rings and only the fifth body in the Solar System — after the much larger planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune — to have this feature. The origin of these rings remains a mystery, but they may be the result of a collision that created a disc of debris.

I wonder how many other ringed asteroids are out there.

~~~

And here's the official science paper, that has many interesting details: www.eso.org...

Light curve during the occultation, showing the dimming as the asteroid and its rings crossed in front of a star:


Representation of the asteroid and its rings, as its passing was observed by various observatories:

reply to post by Brucee


Wow. That's cool. Can't wait to see what man kind has discovered now.

I too will be keeping this in perspective as one poster said. NASA press releases have made me try to err on the side of caution as well.

Though always interesting no matter what, issuing the equivalent of an amber alert is unwarranted usually.



EDIT TO ADD:
Oh cool, asteroids with rings....

Imagine if other features like atmosphere or temperate climate can exist on small asteroids. Learning how they developed there would give usinsight into small scale terraforming.

AutumnWitch657
reply to post by Quadrivium

 

The Oork cloud? Is that where Robin Williams came from ? Will Orson be making the announcement or will Mork? LOL. Typo I know just adding a little levity.
2:00 EST still a little more than four hours.

NANNOO NANNOO!

reply to post by wildespace


285km is about as big as the Death Star if I remember.

Planet with sign of life on it. (water and bacteria)

reply to post by benrl


unrelated, but you have the best pic i seen so far.

benrl

but its probably a surprise in minor planetoids (like pluto)

Whoa did I call this?, it was Rings around a planetoid or large asteroid right?

Is there an upheaval in the history of space? Or there's something we aren't unsure of. Alien discovery, perhaps?