Short answers, pulled from the story.
2060 Chiron was discovered by Charles Kowal on the 1st of November 1977, using images taken on the 18th of October at Palomar Observatory. It was the most distant known minor planet at the time of its discovery.
In February 1988, Chiron brightened by 75 percent at 12 AU from the Sun, behavior typical of comets. A cometary coma was confirmed in 1989 and a tail was detected in 1993. It now carries both the minor planet designation 2060 Chiron and the cometary designation 95P/Chiron.
Yes, Chiron has rings, making it one of four known minor planets with ring systems, alongside 10199 Chariklo, Haumea, and Quaoar. It is the only known comet to have rings. Occultation observations in 1993, 1994, 2011, 2018, and 2022 revealed the rings, including a third ring that fully developed by the December 2022 event.
James Webb Space Telescope observations detected carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, ethane, propane, acetylene, and amorphous water ice in Chiron's coma. Fluorescent methane emissions were also detected, providing the first evidence of a gas coma rich in methane. Cyanide was identified in Chiron's spectrum as early as 1991.
Size estimates for Chiron range from roughly 166 to 271 kilometers in diameter across different studies. A 2023 study by Sickafoose placed it at 196 kilometers. The uncertainty stems partly from Chiron's variable cometary activity, which makes its nucleus's absolute magnitude difficult to determine.
Chiron has a rotation period of 5.918 hours, derived from four rotational light curves taken between 1989 and 1997. The small brightness variation of 0.05 to 0.09 magnitudes indicates the body is roughly spheroidal in shape.