Shakespeare once wrote, “there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Certainly, scientists have been finding that out for centuries; every time we think we have a handle on how the universe works, some new discovery throws us a curveball. A recent discovery by scientists at the University of Sheffield in England has tossed a new one into the field of planetary science. The dwarf planet Quaoar has rings.
Quaoar is one of the dwarf planets that lie out past Pluto, in the Kuiper Belt. At approximately 1,110 kilometers across, Quaoar is roughly half of Pluto’s size, and its distance from the sun gives it an average temperature of 44 Kelvin, or -229 degrees Celsius. It has a small moon, named Weywot, orbiting Quaoar at roughly 14,500 km.
Quaoar isn’t the only dwarf planet known to have rings; the dwarf planets Chariklo and Haumea also have them. But the unusual thing about Quaoar’s rings – the thing that has thrown a curveball to scientists – are where those rings are.
Continue reading “The Rings of Quaoar”