New Simulations Of Chariklo's Double Rings Provide New Insights Of Their Sizes And Density

The researchers have created simulations of the two rings around Chariklo, which is a minor planet and the second smallest object in the Solar System with rings. The simulations provide information about the size and the density of the particles in the rings.

The simulations are performed by Professor Eiichiro Kokubo from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, NAOJ and Dr. Shugo Michikoshi from Kyoto Women's University/University of Tsukuba. They used the supercomputer ATERUI at NAOJ to simulate the rings of the planet Chariklo. They computed the motions of about 345 million ring particles of Chariklo.

The scientists discovered that Chariklo's inner ring should be uneven without help. The ring particles could be much smaller than previously thought or there might be an unknown satellite around Chariklo that is stabilizing the ring, according to Phys.org.

The results of the simulations indicate that the density of the ring particles could be less than half the density of Chariklo. The striped pattern referred to as "self-gravity wakes" shapes in the inner ring because of the interactions between the particles. This escalates the breakup of the ring. The scientists also recalculated the expected lifetime of the rings of Chariklo and discovered that it to be only 1 to 100 years. It is much shorter than the past estimate and it is surprising that the ring is still intact.

Professor Kokubo explained that the small ring particles are one possibility for the continued visibility of the ring. He further said that if the size of the ring particles is only a few millimeters, the rings could maintain for 10 million years. The second possibility is the visibility of unknown shepherd satellite that slows down the dissolution of the rings.

Centaur 10199 Chariklo is the second smallest object with rings and the sixth ringed object ever found in the Solar System. It has a diameter of about 250 kilometers (160 miles). It has a bright ring system composes of two narrow and dense bands. They orbit at distances of about 400 kilometers from the core of Chariklo. This is about a thousandth the distance between Earth and the Moon.