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.

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.