Back 2060 Chiron Afrikaans كايرون 2060 Arabic شيرون 2060 ARZ (2060) Хірон Byelorussian (2060) Quiró Catalan (2060) Хирон CE Chiron (planetka) Czech (2060) Chiron German 2060 Χείρων Greek 2060 Ĥirono Esperanto

2060 Chiron

Not to be confused with Pluto's moon Charon.

2060 Chiron
95P/Chiron
Hubble Space Telescope image of Chiron and its coma, taken in 1996
Discovery[1][2][3]
Discovered byCharles Kowal
Discovery sitePalomar Observatory
Discovery date1 November 1977
Designations
  • (2060) Chiron
  • 95P/Chiron[4]
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 arc126.29 yr
Earliest precovery date24 April 1895[1]
(Harvard Observatory)
Aphelion18.87 AU (2.8 billion km)
(occurred May 2021)[8]
Perihelion8.533 AU (1.3 billion km)
13.70 AU (2.0 billion km)
Eccentricity0.3772
50.71 yr (18,523 days)
7.75 km/s
180.70°
0° 1m 10.2s / day
Inclination6.9299°
209.27°
  • 3 August 2046[9]
  • 14 February 1996 (previous)
  • 29 August 1945
  • 16 March 1895[10]
339.71°
Jupiter MOID3.1 AU (460 million km)
Saturn MOID0.48 AU (72 million km)[1]
Uranus MOID1.4 AU (210 million km)[1]
TJupiter3.363
Physical characteristics
Dimensions126±22 km x 109±19 km x 68±12 km[11]
  • 116.7±7.3 km (Spitzer)[12]
  • 135.69 km (LCDB, derived)[13]
  • 98±17 km (Sickafoose 2023)[11]
5.918 h[13][14][15][16][17]
18.93[21]
14.9 (Perihelic opposition)[22]
0.035" (max)[27]

2060 Chiron is a ringed 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.[a] Chiron is named after the centaur Chiron in Greek mythology.

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.

  1. ^ a b c d e Cite error: The named reference MPC-Chiron was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Sickafoose2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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  17. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Lazzaro-1997 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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