Rings Around a Tiny Body Have Changed Over the Past Decade

Astronomers using the James Webb telescope re-observed a stellar occultation by asteroid Chariklo and found that the inner ring C1R became denser (opacity rose from 0.303 to 0.431), while the outer ring C2R nearly disappeared. The October 18, 2022 observation first captured rings of a small body in the near-IR at 1.5 and 3.2 µm.

• Inner ring opacity increased from 0.303 to 0.431
• Outer ring C2R is almost invisible at 1.5 µm and absent at 3.2 µm
• Inner ring received about 10 times more material than the outer ring lost
• Chariklo's rings are at 390 and 405 km from the center of the 250-km-wide body