Discover that the dwarf planet Haumea has a ring

2017/10/11 Galarraga Aiestaran, Ana - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Astrofisika

Members of the UPV Planetary Sciences group have had the opportunity to analyze the most unknown planet, Haumea, in a belt beyond the orbit of Neptune. For this they have used a star coating: On 21 January 2017, a star was announced, with 12 telescopes of ten viewpoints.

Thus, they have known the shape, size and other forms of the dwarf planet. For example, they have shown that it is greater than they thought and not so compact. In addition, they have seen that it takes 248 hours to complete an orbit around the Sun and that the rotation speed is very high, just four hours. As a result, it is shaped like a rugby ball.

The most surprising thing, however, is that astrophysicists have considered that it has a ring. The rings have also been seen on other small objects, but researchers have recognized that it has been a surprise. The study, led by the Andalusian Institute of Astrophysics, has been published in the journal Nature.