This story was originally published by NASA and is unaltered.

(C) NASA
This story was originally published by NASA and is unaltered.
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Centaur 10199 Chariklo (NIRCam Occultation Light Curve) [1]

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Date: 2023-01

Caption

Graphic showing the dimming effects of Chariklo’s rings on a background star.

Top: A diagram showing the change in position of a background star (Gaia DR3 6873519665992128512) relative to the double-ringed centaur Chariklo, during an occultation. An occultation occurs when a background object is temporarily blocked from view by a foreground object. During this occultation event, the star passed behind Chariklo’s rings, but not behind its main body.

Bottom: A graph showing the change in apparent brightness of the star during the occultation event. This type of graph is known as a light curve. The graph shows the sharp dips in apparent brightness of the star over time as the rings of Chariklo (the largest-known Centaur) passed in front of it on October 18, 2022. Each dip on the graph corresponds to the shadows of two rings around Chariklo, which are ~4 miles (6-7 kilometers) and ~2 miles (2-4 kilometers) wide, and separated by a gap of 5.5 miles (9 kilometers). The two individual rings are not fully resolved in each dip of this light curve.

The data show 1.5-micron light captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) using its F150W filter.

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Credits

IMAGE: NASA, ESA, CSA, Leah Hustak (STScI)

SCIENCE: Pablo Santos-Sanz (IAA-CSIC), Nicolás Morales (IAA-CSIC), Bruno Morgado (UFRJ, ON/MCTI, LIneA)

Keywords

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[1] Url: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/01GQJ8KESB02G5QGRBZ64AFFAF

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