Abstract
On 29 November 2011 UT, 2060 Chiron occulted a R=14.9-mag star; data were successfully obtained at the 3-m NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea and 2-m Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT) Faulkes Telescope North (FTN) at Haleakala. The MORIS lightcurve shows a solid-body detection of Chiron’s nucleus with a chord duration of 16.0±1.4s, corresponding to a chord length of 158±14km. Symmetric, dual extinction features in the FTN light curve indicate the presence of optically thick material roughly 300km from the body midpoint. The duration of the features indicates a 3±2km feature separated by 10–14km from a second 7±2km feature. The symmetry, optical thickness, and narrow size of these features allow for the intriguing possibility of a near-circular arc or shell of material.
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