{
  "id": 8455561,
  "title": "Rings around a tiny body have changed over the past decade",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/rings-around-a-tiny-body-have-changed-over-the-past-decade-8455561",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-19T10:00:06.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Ars Technica Science",
    "slug": "ars-technica-science",
    "url": "https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/09/rings-around-a-tiny-body-have-changed-over-the-past-decade/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "For decades, astronomers believed that rings were a characteristic exclusive to giant planets. However, in 2013, this perception changed when a small, dark body, orbiting between Saturn and Uranus, transited in front of a star and exhibited two blinking rings on either side of the main event. This discovery, made by Pablo Santos-Sanz, an astronomer at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Granada, Spain, was a surprise to the scientific community. Since then, the focus has shifted to understanding the composition and longevity of such rings. A recent study by Santos-Sanz and his colleagues utilized the James Webb Space Telescope to observe the same body, now identified as Chariklo, as it passed in front of a background star once again. The results revealed a significant change in the rings' characteristics. One of the rings had become denser, while the other had almost disappeared. The reasons behind these transformations remain unclear. Santos-Sanz explained that observing a starlight dip caused by a minor body is particularly challenging, especially for those that are distant.",
  "summary": "Chariklo is only about 250 km across, but it has two rings, and they're changing.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Ars Technica",
        "title": "Rings around a tiny body have changed over the past decade",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/rings-around-a-tiny-body-have-changed-over-the-past-decade",
        "published": "2026-09-19T10:00:06.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}