The odd dwarf planet Quaoar might have a brand-new moon. Observations of the tiny world, made by a pair of astronomers in California, suggest it possesses either a second satellite or a third ring.
Quaoar and our solar system's other dwarf planets are generally so far away that they are a challenge to view directly from Earth. (An exception is Ceres, which lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.) So, to observe them, astronomers rely on stellar occultations — moments when an object passes between them and a background star. The body of the foreground object briefly blocks light from the star, as do any rings or satellites.
