An Interest In:
Web News this Week
- March 21, 2024
- March 20, 2024
- March 19, 2024
- March 18, 2024
- March 17, 2024
- March 16, 2024
- March 15, 2024
October 12, 2017 12:00 pm
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/hi9FUkN9qOE/scientists-discover-ring-around-dwarf-planet-haumea-beyond-neptune
Scientists Discover Ring Around Dwarf Planet Haumea Beyond Neptune
A ring has been discovered around one of the dwarf planets that orbits the outer reaches of the solar system. Until now, ring-like structures had only been found around the four outer planets -- Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. The Guardian reports: "In 2014 we discovered that a very small body in the Centaurs region [an area of small celestial bodies between the asteroid belt and Neptune] had a ring and at that time it seemed to be a very weird thing," explained Dr Jose Ortiz, whose group at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia in Granada made the discovery described in the journal Nature. "We didn't expect to find a ring around Haumea, but we were not too surprised either." Haumea was recognized by the International Astronomical Union in 2008 and is one of five dwarf planets, alongside Pluto, Ceres, Eris and Makemake. They are located beyond Neptune -- 50 times farther away from the sun than Earth. Haumea, named after the Hawaiian goddess of childbirth, is unusual because of its elongated shape, comparable to a rugby ball, and its rapid rotation, spinning around once every 3.9 hours. Its diameter is approximately a third of the size of Earth's moon.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/hi9FUkN9qOE/scientists-discover-ring-around-dwarf-planet-haumea-beyond-neptune
Share this article:
Tweet
View Full Article
Slashdot
Slashdot was originally created in September of 1997 by Rob "CmdrTaco" Malda. Today it is owned by Geeknet, Inc..More About this Source Visit Slashdot