An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics
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An object, discovered in 1977, which was initially assumed to be an asteroid, but subsequent observations showed it to be a weak comet with a detectable coma. Its orbit, lying now between those of Saturn and Uranus, is unstable on time scales of a million years.

In Gk. mythology, Xειρων (Cheiron or Chiron) was the wisest of the Centaurs; he was not a drunkard like other Centaurs. Chiron was tutor to Jason and Heracles. He was the only immortal centaur.