Aster › Space program › 2060 Chiron
2060 Chiron
Position on the route: 58/130 · level needed 190 · journey (Mk0 engine) 30.9 h
By the numbers
| Diameter | ≈ 200 km |
|---|---|
| Year | 50.7 years |
| Semi-major axis | 13.7 AU |
| Found | 1977, Kowal |
The story
Chiron, found by Charles Kowal in 1977, was the first centaur: an ice-and-rock body wandering between Jupiter and Neptune. It is named for the wise centaur of myth. About 200 km across, its orbit reaches from Saturn to Uranus. Centaurs are bodies scattered inward from the Kuiper belt: future short-period comets.
Chiron is both asteroid and comet: in 1988 it suddenly brightened and showed a coma, so it also bears the name 95P/Chiron. Occultations in 2011–2015 hinted at rings or jets around it.
Missions
- Observations by ground and space telescopes
- No mission planned
Colony note
No colony; a halfway stop for comet and ice sources.
What probes bring back
- Found by Kowal in 1977: the first centaur, an ice-and-rock body wandering among the giant planets; about 200 km and a 50.7-year orbit.
- Near perihelion it grows a coma and a tail like a comet (95P): asteroid or comet? Both.