James Webb Space Telescope finds Chariklo's rings changing, challenging stability
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just found that Chariklo, a small centaur orbiting between Saturn and Uranus, has rings that are changing more than scientists expected.
The inner ring is now more opaque, while the outer one has become less so.
This discovery, published on September 9, 2026, challenges what we thought we knew about how stable ring systems are around small space rocks.
Chariklo hosts 2 dense rings
Chariklo is pretty special for its size (about 249km wide) because it has two dense rings, something you usually only see around big planets.
These changes were spotted using a clever trick: watching the rings block light from a distant star. Data from ESA's Gaia mission helped track everything precisely.
Learning how Chariklo's rings shift could help us understand not just this oddball centaur, but also other ring systems across our solar system.