![]() ![]() ![]() associate relationship with Kowal, Charles T.Chiron has been listed as possibly a dwarf planet with a measured diameter of 206 km (128 miles) which is near the lower limit for an icy dwarf planet (around 200 km, or 124 miles). Today it is classified as both a minor planet and a comet, and is accordingly also known by the cometary designation "95P/Chiron". Chiron was later found on several precovery images, going back to 1895, which allowed its orbit to be accurately determined.Īlthough it was initially called an asteroid and classified only as a minor planet with the designation "2060 Chiron", it was later found to exhibit behavior typical of a comet. ![]() Chiron was even claimed as the tenth planet by the press. It was found near aphelion on 1 November 1977 and at the time of discovery it was the most distant known minor planet. Discovered in 1977 by American astronomer Charles Kowal (1940-2011), it was the first-identified member of a new class of objects now known as centaurs-bodies orbiting between the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt. It was named after the centaur Chiron, a half-human, half-horse creature in Greek mythology. Solar System body, also known as 2060 Chiron or 95P/Chiron, which orbits the Sun between Saturn and Uranus. Celestial: Chiron Discovery (Hubble Space Telescope image taken in 2015) Biography ![]()
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