Astronomers Surprised to Find Asteroid With Rings

[incision]

That we can predict the alignment and make observations of such unimaginably distant objects never ceases to amaze me. There's just something - I don't know - satisfying about the collective drive to figure things out and accumulate knowledge.

Also, this discovery puts me in mind of my favorite new science fiction series, The Expanse [0].

0: https://www.goodreads.com/series/56399-expanse

[r721]

ESO press release: http://www.eso.org/public/news/eso1410/

Paper: http://www.eso.org/public/archives/releases/sciencepapers/es...

[skywhopper]

I'm surprised this is a surprise. There are asteroids/minor planets with moons. Why not rings?

[tdaltonc]

If you put a ring on an asteroid, i think that everyone would agree that it would stay there. What's surprising is that the dominate theories of ring formation don't really allow for something this small to form rings. Too small for tidal forces. Weak gravity would mean it's hard to hold the products of a collision. If the asteroid has shepherd satellites, they would be even weaker.

At least, that's why I'm surprised.

[tomphoolery]

> The cosmic bling

...is the name of my new hip-hop group

[Roboprog]

Captured & crushed Kuiper belt object, perhaps tossed in by Neptune???

[chiph]

Water Ice? Looks like a breadcrumb to me.

[chris_mahan]

What do the other asteroids call him, the Lord of the Rings?

[luckyno13]

He probably has the title of Ring Bearer.