JWST Finds Dynamic Structural Evolution in Chariklo’s Rings

Chariklo’s Rings Are Evolving

Chariklo, a nonspherical asteroid between Saturn and Uranus, was the first asteroid found to have a ring system. Credit: L. Maquet, Observatoire de Paris, CC BY 4.0

JWST Finds Dynamic Structural Evolution in Chariklo’s Rings

When we think of asteroids, we often think of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that contains the majority of the known asteroids in our solar system. However, our solar system hosts several other populations of asteroids and icy rocks, including the Jupiter Trojan asteroids that orbit in Jupiter’s orbit, and the icy bodies and comets of the Kuiper Belt. But there’s one population of asteroids that often gets overlooked called Cent…