Chiron
In Greek mythology, Chiron ("hand") was a centaur who was unlike most centaurs in that he was kind, intelligent and civilized. He was a son of Cronus and Philyra.
He was probably a Thessalian god, later subsumed into the Greek pantheon as a centaur.
He lived on Mount Pilion or Pelion and tutored Asclepius, Theseus, Achilles, Jason and Heracles.
Heracles accidentally shot him with a poisonous arrow (see: Erymanthian Boar) and Chiron willingly gave up his immortality to escape the pain. He was placed in the sky as the constellation Sagittarius.
Chiron also saved the life of Peleus when Acastus tried to kill him by taking his sword and leaving him out in the woods to be slaughtered by the centaurs. Chiron retrieved his sword.
With the nymph Chariclo, Chiron was the father of Ocyrhoe.
Alternative: Cheiron
In astronomy, 2060 Chiron is an object discovered in 1977 by Charles Kowal. It is about 200 km in diameter. It has a highly elliptical orbit around the Sun, taking 50 years to return. It has certain properties of both comets and asteroids - it has the coma typical of comets but is far bigger than the biggest known comet and is more typical of the size of asteroids. The name 'Centaur' has been coined to classify such objects.
Chiron should not be confused with the moon of Pluto named Charon, discovered in 1978.
