It shares some characteristics with Pluto, the largest-known dwarf planet in our region of space.

With it came a surprising discovery, according to Space.com. Our Website uses cookies to improve your experience. Covid-19 will accelerate IoT adoption globally, report finds, Free Google Meet users get months-long extension on unlimited calls, The sun is setting for FarmVille on Facebook at the end of 2020, NearForm contact-tracing apps launched in New York and New Jersey, Why high-speed communication is the ‘backbone’ of digital transformation, B2B software is the last unconquered UX frontier – here’s what to do about it, Recent email scams to watch out for if you’re working from home, Shopify reports data breach by ‘rogue members’ of staff, How Covid-19 broke digital transformation barriers in the HSE, Pure Telecom signs a multimillion-euro deal with BT Ireland, Eir’s 5G availability has ‘increased more than threefold’ since launch, Nokia signs major 5G deal with BT in the UK, Three switches on Irish 5G network with 35pc population coverage, SFI launches €2m telecoms infrastructure research initiative, Eir owner Iliad plans to snap up Poland’s Play for €2.2bn, Stock-prediction start-up Pynk raises $2m, Irish regtech firm ID-Pal raises €1m to accelerate global expansion, ‘My number-one piece of advice for entrepreneurs? One of the largest dwarf planets in our solar system, Haumea is found within the Kuiper belt band of asteroids. Go for it’, Irish-founded SuperAwesome snapped up by Epic Games, Frequency wants to improve communication within aviation, Spotify CEO pledges to invest $1bn in European ‘moonshot’ tech, Weekend takeaway: Cosy up with 10 great sci-tech reads, The countdown is on to Ireland’s sci-tech extravaganza, Inspirefest 2017, Time running out to get your hands on Inspirefest early bird tickets, Construction begins on €500m Limerick Twenty Thirty development, Irish climate scientist Dr Tara Shine confirmed for senior UN role, What science can tell us about the perfect cup of coffee, Greenland’s ice sheets ‘on pace’ to melt at fastest rate in 12,000 years, Coding errors may have left 10pc of Leaving Cert students with wrong results, Report finds almost 40pc of all plants threatened with extinction, Underground lakes of liquid water potentially discovered on Mars. Designed by Zero-G and Square1.io. The ring plane approximately coincides with Haumea's equat… Astronomers have discovered the first known dwarf planet to host a ring system. This represents the first ring system discovered for a TNO. This discovery was made after analysis of observations taken in March 2003. This suggested that something was obscuring it, most likely a series of rings, which was only confirmed after many months of follow-up research by a team led by José Luis Ortiz of Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía. How do companies ensure diversity in their workforce? Earlier this year, Haumea passed between Earth and a distant star, revealing itself to astronomers like never before. Revolut to move Irish accounts to Lithuania due to Brexit, Google could be adding an extra 70,000 sq ft to its London office space. Please visit our Privacy Policy page for more information about cookies and how we use them. Why J&J took ‘a very agile’ approach to work during Covid-19, The future of cloud computing may be hybrid, Why ‘grabbing the nettle’ will be crucial for business after Covid-19, Join us for Future Human, the first major international hybrid tech event. Should your employer be helping you achieve work-life balance? The ring is in the same plane with Haumea’s equator and the orbit of Hi‘iaka.

An analytical mind is helpful, Pharma manufacturer Hovione announces 48 new jobs for Cork, RSM announces 24 new jobs for Belfast amid £1.3m investment, 80 jobs confirmed for Cork as Green Rebel Marine eyes offshore wind boom, Applying for jobs? But meanwhile, this object was observed since several months by the American team of Michael Brown, from Cerro Tololo Inter-A… In fact, all of its strangeness might be linked with Haumea and its two moons – Hi’aka and Namaka – potentially originating from a larger Haumea that was struck by something in the Kuiper belt. The discovery of the rings also suggests that Haumea might have been hit with something not long ago, at least in terms of space, possibly between 700m and 1bn years ago. Image: NASA. Here’s what you need to know, Passionate about lifelong learning? The discovery of the rings also suggests that Haumea might have been hit with something not long ago, at least in terms of space, possibly between 700m and 1bn years ago. The most notable thing about Haumea’s shape is that it looks like it has more in common with an egg than something in space, being twice as long in one direction than the other, possibly caused by a very fast rotation. How will Irish research operate in a post-Covid world? 7 US companies hiring in Ireland right now, 7 of the coolest science jobs in the world, Thinking about a career in marketing? The new measurements confirmed Haumea’s density – slightly lower than we thought – but its odd shape means its gravity is not strong enough to make itself round, which could see it miss out on the criteria set out for a cosmic body to be named a dwarf planet. The study’s co-author, Pablo Santos Sanz, suggested that a debate will continue for some time but the loss of this status is likely. All rights reserved. More than 300 new roles were announced this week, Software company Workvivo announces 100 new jobs for Cork, Why employers should ‘be vocal’ about their stances on social justice issues, Report: The future skills we’ll need for the built environment sector, Google staff may have to return to country of employment by end of year, Covid unemployment rates fell in September but ‘significant impact’ remains, Report: 60pc of Ireland’s 2019 board appointments were women, Bad boss getting you down? It is estimated that the rings could be as wide as 70km and encircle the planet at a distance of around 1,000km from its surface. Here’s how to show it, How this biotech graduate became a business analyst at Accenture, What it’s like to work as the head of a games development studio, ‘Getting practical experience has made me feel more like a developer’, A day in the life of a health-informatics COO during Covid-19, Why this former Google lead is teaching kids the applications of AI, How BT Ireland’s head of HR stays productive while working remotely, 6 top international companies hiring in data right now. As a consequence, this new object received the provisional name 2003 EL61. Explainer: What does the EU’s FDI screening regulation mean? It wasn’t just rings that the team was looking out for, however, as researchers got an opportunity to analyse Haumea’s shape, which could jeopardise its status as a dwarf planet. The ring is about 70 km (40 miles) wide and is at a radius of 2,287 km (1,421 km) from the dwarf planet. It is well within Haumea's Roche limit, which would be at a radius of about 4,400 km if it were spherical (being nonspherical pushes the limit out farther). The discovery of (136108) Haumea was announced in July 2005 by a Spanish team, led by José Luis Ortiz, observing from Sierra Nevada Observatory (Spain). CIT Nimbus Centre to lead €11m project to develop factories of the future, How one researcher is using VR to find how we ‘hear’ a virtual world, Microsoft and SSE Airtricity to bring solar panels to Irish schools, Airbus aims for commercial hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035, 6 start-ups creating a buzz in energy storage technology, Forget a climate shift in centuries, more like decades, climatologists claim, WeForest doubles crowdfunding target to empower Indian village, World awaits birth of ‘baby dragons’ in Slovenia, Gold and platinum discovered in south-east Irish streams, The bees are still in trouble, so we are too, A perfect blend: Inspirefest serves up a stimulating mix of STEM and humanity, Inspirefest snapshot: The prodigy turned empire-builder for girls in STEM, Vogue 25 celebrates science, social media and activism, With dreams of making it into space, this girl is a real inspiration, Girls4Tech and STEM for all at Coolest Projects, The Storytellers: 12 women shining a spotlight on women in STEM. What’s coming down the road for the automotive industry? What’s in store for the future of work in Ireland? An artist’s concept of Haumea and its moons, Hi’aka and Namaka. Particles in the ring are in a 3:1 resonance with the dwarf planet’s rotation; that is, ring particles make one revolution for every three times Haumea rotates.