A team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have uncovered evidence that shows Chiron, a minor planet, to be encircled by a ring system similar to the one encompassing Saturn.

Apart from Saturn, there are four other bodies in our solar system that are known to have rings of gas and dust, namely Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Chariklo, whose ring system was recently detected. Both Chariklo and Chiron are called as "centaur," after the mythological Greek hybrid creature made of man and beast to convey the unclear dual nature of these small planets exhibiting the qualities of asteroids as well as comets.

Discovered in 1977, Chiron is estimated to have a diameter of about 233 kilometers (145 miles), making it very small in comparison to proper planets. Chiron became the first planetary body to be classified under centaurs, which are estimated to number at least 44,000 in the solar system and are found mainly in a band between the orbits of Jupiter and Pluto.

Centaurs are believed to be mostly dormant, though Chiron has been displaying glimmers of activity and astronomers have been seeing brightening patterns and activity resembling a streaking comet on the planet since the late 1980s.

In November 2011, the team remotely observed a stellar occultation from MIT's Building 54 in which Chiron passed in front of a bright star, briefly blocking part of the light originating from it. The astronomers observed several shadows, which they believe were created by a system of rings encircling the planet. According to the MIT scientists, the system of rings could be made up of gas and dust coughed out by Chiron.

It is also possible that the ring system is comprised of the remains of another celestial body that was destroyed sufficiently close for Chiron's gravitational pull to capture the resulting debris. Chiron is believed to have two rings measuring 3 and 7 kilometers (about 2 and 4 miles) across, respectively, while the ring system sits 300 kilometers (186 miles) at its furthest point from the planet's center.