2060 Chiron
Large 200km centaur/comet with 50-year orbit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about 2060 Chiron?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
2060 Chiron is a small Solar System body in the outer Solar System, orbiting the Sun between Saturn and Uranus. Discovered in 1977 by Charles Kowal, it was the first-identified member of a new class of objects now known as centaurs—bodies orbiting between the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt.[lower-alpha 1] Chiron is named after the centaur Chiron in Greek mythology.
Discovery[1][2][3] | |
---|---|
Discovered by | Charles Kowal |
Discovery site | Palomar Observatory |
Discovery date | 1 November 1977 |
Designations | |
| |
Pronunciation | /ˈkaɪrɒn/ |
Named after | Chiron (Greek mythology)[5] |
1977 UB | |
Adjectives |
|
Symbol | (astrological) |
Orbital characteristics[6] | |
Epoch 2021-Jul-01 (JD 2459396.5) | |
Uncertainty parameter 0 | |
Observation arc | 126.29 yr |
Earliest precovery date | 24 April 1895[1] (Harvard Observatory) |
Aphelion | 18.87 AU (2.8 billion km) (occurred May 2021)[8] |
Perihelion | 8.533 AU (1.3 billion km) |
13.70 AU (2.0 billion km) | |
Eccentricity | 0.3772 |
50.71 yr (18,523 days) | |
Average orbital speed | 7.75 km/s |
180.70° | |
0° 1m 10.2s / day | |
Inclination | 6.9299° |
209.27° | |
339.71° | |
Jupiter MOID | 3.1 AU (460 million km) |
Saturn MOID | 0.48 AU (72 million km)[1] |
Uranus MOID | 1.4 AU (210 million km)[1] |
TJupiter | 3.363 |
Physical characteristics | |
Mean radius | |
5.918 h[13][14][15][16][17] | |
18.93[20] 14.9 (Perihelic opposition)[21] | |
0.035" (max)[26] | |
Although it was initially called an asteroid and classified only as a minor planet with the designation "2060 Chiron", in 1989 it was found to exhibit behavior typical of a comet. Today it is classified as both a minor planet and a comet, and is accordingly also known by the cometary designation 95P/Chiron. More recently, a series of occultation events through the 2010s and early 2020s revealed that Chiron hosts rings, making it one of four minor planets and the only known comet to host a ring system.