Researcher Noemí Pinilla-Alonso explained that the composition is uncharacteristic of objects near Neptune. Its gaseous and solid states, which lead to behavior like that of an asteroid and a comet, are also head-scratchers.

Chiron is a class of comet-ish asteroids/asteroid-ish comets called centaurs – named after the half-human, half-horse hybrid – found bouncing between Jupiter and Neptune. But Chiron is an ‘oddball when compared to the majority of other centaurs,’ said physicist Charles Schambeau of the University of Central Florida.

A strange asteroid-comet hybrid that orbits between Jupiter and Neptune could reveal key details about the birth of our solar system.

In the icy expanse beyond Jupiter and Neptune, a peculiar celestial body named Chiron has puzzled scientists for decades. Officially classified as 2060 Chiron, this 125-mile-wide object blurs the boundaries between asteroid and comet.

Scientists have discovered new characteristics of a small body which orbits the sun between Jupiter and Neptune, providing more clues about the origins of the Solar System. Chiron is a unique celestial object known as a centaur that has features of both asteroids and comets.