In Greek mythology, Chiron was the wisest of the centaurs – creatures who were half human and half horse. He taught other centaurs about medicine, botany, and other sciences.

Today, the astronomical Chiron is teaching scientists about the formation and evolution of ring systems.

Chiron is one of about a thousand known centaurs – chunks of ice and rock between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune. It’s one of the larger ones, at an average diameter of about 125 miles. Even so, it’s so far away that it’s tough to study. But it sometimes passes in front of a distant star. Such a passage allows scientists to measure its size.

It also allows them to study the space around Chiron. Rings cause the light of the background star to flicker. Observing that effect from different locations, and at different times, provides a profile of the rings.

A study last year reported some changes. Scientists already knew of three rings. The new study reported evidence of a fourth ring. It’s so far out that Chiron’s weak gravity might not be able to hold it. The scientists also found a wide disk of dust.

The rings and disk might be debris from a small moon, or the result of an outburst from Chiron itself. Chiron is moving closer to the Sun. As it warms up, it could produce more outbursts. So the system could undergo more big changes in the years ahead – teaching us much more about the evolution of rings around the small bodies of the solar system.

Script by Damond Benningfield