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🐎 A wise centaur 🪐 An asteroid
Chiron

Chiron

1 9.9
An asteroid discovered in 1977 that orbits mainly between Saturn and Uranus
  • proper noun
  • Specialized
: Quirón

Examples

  • Chiron requires further tests for habitability; it must be cleansed of deadly disease before any further colonies may be established.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • Is it an extreme case of a Chiron-like centaur evolved from the Kuiper Belt?

    Academic text (1996)

  • Chiron and Neptune in Pisces are also about flowing tears and bleeding wounds.

    Blog text (4)

  • The asteroid Chiron was discovered in 1977 and orbits mainly between Saturn and Uranus.

  • Astronomers continue to study Chiron as it follows its unique path in the outer solar system.

  • Located in the region between Saturn and Uranus, Chiron is classified as a centaur asteroid.

Surface Forms

Chiron main

Etymology

Chiron was named after a wise centaur from Greek myth. The discoverers picked this name because the object shows features of both an asteroid and a comet—'half' one and 'half' the other—so the name helps you remember it is a hybrid body between Saturn and Uranus.