Science and Space

space and astronomy articles.

About rings around the planets

Rings circle Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—though only Saturn’s are obvious when viewed from Earth. They are not solid rings or disks at all. Rather they are composed of myriad bits and pieces of ice, rock and dust. In the case of Saturn they consist of more ice, which reflects sunlight effectively. The rings of the other planets contain mostly dust, which is dark and doesn’t reflect much light. Additionally, whereas Saturn's rings are wide, the other planets sport thin rings. The rings of Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune probably arose as a result of meteor impacts on their tiny inner satellites. Dust and rocky debris blasted off the satellites' surfaces continues to orbit the planet for many years. Saturn's rings probably represent a moon-shattering collision that left debris from an icy moon too close to the planet to reassemble.

posted by: kyawoo at 11:10 | link | comments |
planets

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