Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have uncovered new details about the ring system of Chariklo, a small solar system object that orbits between Saturn and Uranus. Chariklo is part of the Centaur family of asteroids—objects that have orbits between the planets and often exhibit characteristics of both asteroids and comets. Despite being only about 155 miles (250 kilometers) wide, Chariklo has two thick rings, a discovery that surprised scientists when it was first made in 2013. Now, new observations suggest the rings are even more complex than previously thought. While Saturn is the most famous planet for its vast and prominent ring system, other planets like Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune also have rings, though they are much less visible. The discovery of rings around small bodies like Chariklo and Chiron challenges the idea that only large planets can have such features. The JWST’s advanced sensitivity has allowed scientists to detect subtle changes in the opacity of Chariklo’s rings, revealing that the inner ring is much darker than the outer one. The research team, led by scientists from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC), used a technique called stellar occultation to study Chariklo. This method involves measuring how the light from a distant star dims as an object passes in front of it. By comparing observations from the JWST with data from previous stellar occultations over the past decade, the team noticed that the two rings behave differently. The inner ring appears more opaque, while the outer ring is less so. This suggests that the physics governing these rings is more complex than previously assumed. The findings challenge earlier beliefs that small bodies have relatively stable ring systems. Scientists now must reconsider how these rings form, evolve, and remain intact over time. The ability to observe such changes could offer new insights into the dynamics of ring systems throughout the solar system. However, the exact cause of these changes in Chariklo’s rings remains unknown, and further research is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms. The precision of the observations was made possible by combining data from the JWST with information from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, which maps the positions of stars, and by carefully tracking the telescope’s orbit around the L2 Lagrange point, a stable region of space far from Earth. During the occultation, Chariklo moved at about 5,600 miles (2.5 kilometers) per second relative to the telescope—extremely fast by Earth standards, but relatively slow for a solar system object. This allowed the rings to be studied in unprecedented detail. Because Chariklo is so small and distant, scientists rely on occultation events to study it, as even the powerful JWST cannot directly image it. The findings were published in the journal Science Advances on September 9.