ring are not exclusive to   the Solar System ’s gas goliath . Two minor planet also sport   them , and now astronomers know how they form .

pocket-size planets include objects like nanus planets , asteroids , and asteroid - like objects found between Jupiter and Neptune call centaurs .   An international team of astrophysicists simulate how centaurs   interact with the giant planet   and , according to their study published in theAstrophysical Journal Letters , the enceinte major planet   rips the control surface of the underage satellite , and the debris sets into a ring .

The investigator consider that at least 10 percent of the Centaurus , objects between Jupiter and Neptune , will experience the   confining showdown that lead to this result . With over 44,000 Centaurus with a diameter large than 1 kilometre ( 0.62 miles ) , it is important to sympathize   more about these legion objects .

The study was started by therecent discoveryof two resound Centaur , Chariklo and Chiron . The rings were find out thanks to a proficiency called leading eclipse , observance made when the minor planets were surpass in front of a star . When this happen in 2013 , astronomers were ready to look at Chariklo and reveal that the Centaurus , which   has a diameter of 250 kilometers ( 160 mile ) , had ice water rings .

Chiron , which is slightly small , had really been observed with this   proficiency several times before Chariklo , but the ring signature was only understood afterward . Both objects have rings made of water trash , which suggest an glacial open is a necessary circumstance for the formation of this   type of rings .

accord to the researchers , there are other factors at play . The spin of the centaurs , their core size , and how close they get to the satellite all influence if and how these small-scale planets get band . But although exciting , rings are not the only thing that could be formed around these objects . The model   suggest   that even small moons could form out of these interactions .

The centaur population might have looked like an unremarkable collection of comet and asteroid , but the more observations we get the more it seems to be full of interesting and singular object . And if this study is right , the best is yet to be divulge .