Thermal contribution of Chiron putative ring. Top: ring temperature model: particle temperature (light blue) and ring brightness temperature at three wavelengths (red: 12.5 μm, green: 70 μm, dark blue: 1287 μm) as a function of time over 1970–2020 for a Chiron ring with τ = 0.4. They are compared to the 70 μm brightness temperature of Chiron itself (black). The dotted line represents the emissivity factor (1 – e^−τ/B), multiplied by 100. Bottom: wavelength-dependent effect of rings on the apparent diameter. See text for details.