Scientists have discovered a new ring system around a dwarf planet on the edge of the Solar System. The ring system orbits much further out than is typical for other ring systems, calling into question current theories of how ring systems are formed.
The ring system is around a dwarf planet, named Quaoar, which is approximately half the size of Pluto and orbits the Sun beyond Neptune.
The discovery, published in Nature, was made by an international team of astronomers using HiPERCAM — an extremely sensitive high-speed camera developed by scientists at the University of Sheffield which is mounted on the world’s largest optical telescope, the 10.4 metre diameter Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) on La Palma.
The rings are too small and faint to see directl...
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