Astronomers have made a strange discovery near the edge of the solar system. They have discovered rings around a dwarf planet named Quaoar. Here’s why scientists are stunned. A planet’s rings reside within its Roche limit. It’s the distance within which its gravitational forces rip apart moons and other celestial bodies.

Rings outside this limit gradually merge to create moons within a few decades. But in the case of Quaoar, its rings orbit it at a distance of 4100 km or about 2550 miles from its center. That’s about four times its diameter and significantly further than Quaoar’s Roche limit. So this discovery has challenged our notion that rings can only exist inside the Roche limit. This shows there’s a lot to be discovered within the solar system. And some discoveries could challenge our understanding of the laws of physics.

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