Astronomers Just Discovered an Asteroid With Rings

Using a suite of seven high-powered telescopes, astronomers from the European Southern Observatory discovered a set of rings around the asteroid Chariklo, proving both at once that improving technology is the key to unlocking the universe's mysteries, and that we basically have no idea what's going on.

Asteroids aren't supposed to have rings. Big things, like Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, have rings. Little things, like Earth and Mercury, don't have rings. So why does a rock 155 miles across have rings?

Colin Schultz | | READ MORE

Colin Schultz is a freelance science writer and editor based in Toronto, Canada. He blogs for Smart News and contributes to the American Geophysical Union. He has a B.Sc. in physical science and philosophy, and a M.A. in journalism.