QUAOAR - SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

News: There’s a ring around this dwarf planet. It shouldn’t be there

 

What's in the news?

       Astronomers have found a ring around a dwarf planet, located in the Kuiper Belt at the solar system’s edge, called Quaoar, according to a new study.

 

Key takeaways:

       The ring, however, is positioned much further away from the planet than is usual and defies theoretical explanations.

       Astronomers believe the new study points to the possibility of discovering more rings around smaller planets like Quaoar in the outer solar system, which might expand our understanding of planetary ring systems.

 

Quaoar:

       The dwarf planet, which is about half the size of Pluto and orbits beyond Neptune, is too distant and the ring too narrow to be seen directly.

 

Rings and Roche Limit:

       The observations, by a powerful telescope on La Palma, reveal the ring to be much further away from the planet.

       The ring was outside the theoretical maximum for where a ring can survive according to classical theory.

       The ring is located at a distance of more than seven planetary radii, twice as far out as what was previously thought to be the maximum radius, known as the Roche limit.

       Inside the Roche limit, the planet exerts strong tidal forces that prevent debris in the ring amalgamating into a moon.

 

Dwarf Planets:

Criteria:

       There are 4 criteria for a celestial body to be considered as a Dwarf Planet. These criteria’s are set by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). They criteria’s are

       The body orbits around the Sun.

       It is not a moon.

       Has not cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit (which means it is not the dominant body in its orbit around the Sun and this is what differentiates a planet from a dwarf planet).

       Has enough mass for its gravity to pull it into a roughly spherical shape.

 

Five Dwarf Planets:

At present there are officially five dwarf planets in our Solar System.

       Pluto is the most famous dwarf planet. It was downgraded from the status of a planet in 2006.

       Eris

       Makemake

       Haumea and

       Ceres.