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Chiron

Chiron is a figure in Greek mythology—a centaur renowned for wisdom, healing, and teaching. He is described as a son of Cronus and the sea-nymph Philyra, and as the most civilised of the centaurs, noted for knowledge rather than wild revelry. Chiron tutored many legendary heroes, including Achilles, Asclepius, and Jason, and was esteemed for skill in medicine, music, and prophecy. Unlike other centaurs, he is portrayed as gentle and scholarly. In many traditions he is wounded by an arrow dipped in the venom of the Hydra; because he is immortal, the wound torments him until, in some accounts, he relinquishes his immortality to Prometheus in order to die. Zeus places Chiron among the stars as a constellation.

In astronomy, Chiron is the first identified centaur—a class of small icy bodies with orbits that lie

between
those
of
the
giant
planets.
It
was
discovered
on
November
1,
1977,
by
Charles
T.
Kowal
and
named
after
the
mythological
figure.
Chiron
displays
both
asteroid-like
and
cometary
characteristics,
including
episodes
of
activity
and
a
tenuous
coma.
It
orbits
the
Sun
on
a
highly
elongated
path
that
crosses
the
orbits
of
outer
planets,
with
a
period
of
many
years.
Diameter
estimates
place
it
around
two
hundred
kilometers,
making
it
one
of
the
larger
known
centaurs.
The
discovery
of
Chiron
helped
define
the
centaur
category
and
has
informed
studies
of
the
evolution
and
behavior
of
icy
bodies
in
the
outer
Solar
System.