Karen Meech

An image of Chiron, taken with a CCD camera in the late 1980s. The telescope has been tracked to allow for Chiron's motion, making the stars appear as streaks. Despite this, Chiron does not appear pointlike; the faint haze around it is evidence for a cometary coma. Images like this confirmed that Chiron is a giant cometary nucleus.

©2001 Fathom, Inc.