Posted on 10/12/2017 6:56:13 AM PDT by BenLurkin
A unique opportunity to study the dwarf planet Haumea has led to an intriguing discovery: Haumea is surrounded by a ring.
Add this to the already long list of unique things about the weird-shaped world with a dizzying rotation and a controversial discovery.
On January 21, 2017 Haumea passed in front of a distant star, in an event known as an occultation. The background star can – pardon the pun – shine a light on the object passing in front, providing information about a distant object — such as size, shape, and density — that is otherwise difficult to obtain. Since an occultation with Haumea had never been observed before, scientists were first eager, and then surprised.
“One of the most interesting and unexpected findings was the discovery of a ring around Haumea,” said said Pablo Santos-Sanz, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC) in a statement.
This is the first time a ring has been discovered around a trans-neptunian object, and the team said this discovery shows that the presence of rings could be much more common than was previously thought, in our Solar System as well as in other planetary systems.
(Excerpt) Read more at universetoday.com ...
And Uranus? We knew it was a trap but sprang it anyway. ;-)
“a trans-neptunian object”
Can’t decide if he’s gaseous or rocky? Surgery and hormones could help.
...smaller than the dwarf planet Pluto?
It’s about time. She’s been dating that planet for almost a decade
Size challenged Pluto. Dwarf is not politically correct.
Dwarf is not politically correct.
OK midget
“’Cause if you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it”
Mission Accomplished.
Hey, if a dwarf planet loves another dwarf planet, he should put a ring on it.
We should probably get a second opinion...
Artist concept of Haumea, with the correct proportions of the main body and the ring. The ring is at a distance of 2287 kilometers from the center of the main body and is darker than the surface of the dwarf planet itself. Credit: Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía.
We can’t even manage a human landing on Mars in our solar system, which is only a very small AUD away from earth.
Why waste time and resources on a planet hundreds of light years away?
I am so pleased to hear that Hillary Clinton has finally given a ring to Haumea and made an honest woman out of her.
- Emily Littell
Accordingly, George Costanza has just made a generous donation in your name to the Haumean fund.
So, it’s married?
“If you like your planet status, you can keep your planet status.”
Huma's ring.
Equatorial Diameter: 1,960 km to 1,518 km <- alien measurements
1217.88 miles to 943.24 miles
Orbit Distance: 6,452,000,000 km (43.13 AU)
4,009,086,932.315 miles
Orbit Period: 283.3 years
Surface Temperature: -241°C is -401.8 F which is dang cold!
Moons: 2 (Hi’iaka & Namaka)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.