2060 Chiron

2060 Chiron is a centaur orbiting between Saturn and Uranus. It is also designated comet 95P/Chiron because it has shown cometary activity.

Connect

Centaur (minor planet): A small Solar System body whose orbit lies between those of the giant planets. Chiron is a prominent centaur whose path crosses the region between Saturn and Uranus.
Charles Kowal: An American astronomer who discovered several outer Solar System bodies, including Chiron. Kowal discovered Chiron in 1977 while searching for distant objects.
Stellar occultation: An event in which a Solar System body passes in front of a star from an observer's viewpoint. Occultations have constrained Chiron’s size, shape, and possible surrounding material.
Asteroid: A small rocky or metallic body orbiting the Sun, most commonly found in the asteroid belt. Chiron was first treated as an asteroid, but its cometary activity complicates that label.
Cometary activity: The release of gas and dust from a small Solar System body, often producing a coma or tail. Chiron has displayed comet-like outgassing despite its classification as a centaur.
Minor-planet designation: A numbered identifier assigned to a minor planet after its orbit is established. Chiron received the number 2060 after its orbit was sufficiently determined.
Light curve: A record of an object's brightness over time. Changes in Chiron’s brightness help track rotation and evolving activity.
Periodic comet: A comet that returns to the inner Solar System on a recurrent orbit around the Sun. Chiron carries a periodic-comet designation despite remaining in a centaur-like orbit.
Orbital resonance: A gravitational relationship in which orbiting bodies have orbital periods related by a ratio of small integers. Resonant interactions with giant planets can shape centaur orbits like Chiron’s.
Comet designation: A naming system that identifies comets by type, discovery sequence, and periodic status. Its observed activity led to the additional designation 95P/Chiron.