Chiron: Difference between revisions
(Created page with "thumb|The orbit of 2060 Chiron <ref>[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chiron_orbit.PNG]</ref> 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. Although it was initially called an asteroid a...") |
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Revision as of 04:18, 4 November 2023
The orbit of 2060 Chiron [1]
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.
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. Chiron is named after the centaur Chiron in Greek mythology. [2]
![[1]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chiron_orbit.PNG){kind=link}