In the United States, scientist James Elliot, who discovered the ring system of Uranus and discovered the atmosphere of Pluto, died at the age of 67. The astronomer's death was announced in a press release from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where Elliott worked for many years. The scientist, who suffered from cancer, died on March 3.

Elliott received a PhD (with some reservations - an analogue of the Russian degree of Candidate of Sciences) in astronomy in 1972 from Harvard University. The scientist was one of the first who began to actively use observation techniques based on recording changes in the brightness of distant stars (more precisely, their short-term disappearance) as planets passed across their disk. This method requires very careful and constant observations - despite the fact that scientists carry out preliminary calculations, the exact time of the “meeting” of the planet and star is unknown.

Elliott discovered the rings of Uranus in 1977 using this method. The ring system of the seventh planet of the solar system is much smaller than that of Saturn - Uranus is surrounded by several rings up to a kilometer thick. The diameter of their constituent particles varies from fractions of a millimeter to ten meters. Initially, Elliott was not looking for rings - he and his colleagues intended to explore other characteristics of the planet. In order not to miss the moment of the passage, scientists began to observe Uranus in advance, and shortly before the planned time of the “meeting,” the star against which the planet was supposed to pass disappeared several times. After the moment of transit, the star disappeared again several times. The reason for the “winking” of the star turned out to be the rings of Uranus.

In 1988, Elliot discovered the atmosphere of Pluto - when the planet passed against the background of the star, the latter disappeared not abruptly, but gradually. Such dynamics indicate that the planet is surrounded by a gaseous shell.

In recent years, Elliott and his colleagues have been studying the Kuiper Belt , a region of outer space beyond the orbit of Neptune that contains many asteroids and dwarf planets, The New York Times reports.

The discoverer of the rings of Uranus dies