The Rings of Chariklo: A Dance of Dust and Light ⚡ экспресс
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, observations of a stellar occultation by centaur (10199) Chariklo were conducted in the near-infrared. Measurements showed that the inner dense ring became significantly more opaque compared to earlier data, indicating ongoing replenishment or dynamical restructuring. In contrast, the outer ring exhibited a much weaker signal in the near-infrared than previously observed in visible light. This discrepancy could be caused by loss of material, hinting at a possible temporary nature of the outer ring, or a wavelength dependence of opacity. These scenarios are not mutually exclusive and reveal an unprecedented level of complexity in small-body ring systems, fundamentally different from any previously known in the Solar System.
Using the most powerful space telescope, James Webb, astronomers peeked into the cosmic dressing room and saw how the rings of asteroid Chariklo are changing. By observing a passage in front of a star—when the body casts a mini-eclipse on a distant star, a standard method for finding planets around other stars—they discerned: the inner ring grew denser, as if more partners had joined the dance, while the outer almost dissolved into darkness.
Both rings are made of cosmic dust and ice, but they behave differently. The inner one is constantly replenished by ejections from Chariklo's surface—energetic steps that keep the dance alive. The outer, conversely, thins out, yielding to the starlight. This suggests that such ring systems are not an eternal show, but rather a fleeting performance. Chariklo, the centaur hybrid, turns out to be far more changeable than previously thought: its rings live and vanish faster than those of planets.
🎯 From Earth, Chariklo's rings are invisible to any telescope—they reveal themselves only through brief 'winks' of stars as the asteroid passes in front of them.