But it can vary depending on the mass of that body.” “Overall, the Roche limit is at a distance between two and three times the radius of the central body. Conversely, if the satellite exceeds the famous limit of Roche, then it is no longer subjected to excessive forces and can be maintained in one block, abounds the astronomer. In other words, if a satellite is too close to a celestial body, it disintegrates and the residue forms rings. “If a satellite around a planet enters the Roche limit, then it is dislocated by tidal forces”, explains Josselin Desmars. “The only example that does not obey this famous limit”Įdouard Roche’s calculations gave rise to a notion called the Roche limit. “It’s the first time we’ve seen this”comment to franceinfo Josselin Desmars, co-author of the article and researcher at the Paris Observatory.
What constitute an anomaly both for the founding work in this field, carried out in 1850 by the mathematician and astronomer Edouard Roche, and for the observations made since. Quaoar has a radius of only 550 km, but that of its ring is 7.4 times larger and reaches 4 100 km. This one shared an illustration image of Quaoar’s ring. Astronomers, including French, announced this discovery in an article published in the scientific journal Nature (article in English)Wednesday, February 8.įor this study, several instruments were mobilized between 20, in the Canaries, in Namibia, and in space with the Cheops space telescope, of the European Space Agency (ESA). But above all, it is in a completely new area: it is far too large compared to what is expected and documented elsewhere. This dwarf planet, which is about 1 100 km in diameter – half the size of Pluto – also has a ring. It orbits very far from us: the distance that separates it from the Sun is 43 times greater than that between the Earth and our star. Quaoar, discovered in 2002, is one of these objects.
But the latter are not the prerogative of large celestial bodies: there are also some around smaller stars, such as those found beyond Neptune, the last planet in our solar system. The planet Saturn is known for its majestic rings.
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