Saturn isn't the only planet in our solar system with a ring system. While Saturn's rings are the most dramatic, the three other gas giants — Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus — each have a ring system as well. But the fun doesn't stop there. Astronomers have also spotted rings around smaller celestial bodies: dwarf planets Haumea and Quaoar, as well as centaur Chariklo.
Now, 2060 Chiron, better known as just Chiron, is the latest celestial body to join the party. In analyzing observations of Chiron taken by Brazil's Pico dos Dias Observatory in 2023, astronomers have just spotted four rings plus diffuse material around this icy centaur, which was first sighted in 1977.
Centaurs are a class of celestial objects that are a cross between comets and asteroids, located between Jupiter and Neptune