(ORDO NEWS) — Most people think that only Saturn has a ring system . Some know that Uranus also has it , because he is often depicted with rings.
Yes, these solar system planets do have rings, but they are not the only ones. Jupiter and Neptune are also happy owners of complex ring systems. Even some moons, such as Saturn’s moon Rhea, and asteroids can have rings.
Let’s talk about the rings encircling the giant planets of the solar system.
Jupiter
Jupiter ‘s rings cannot be seen from Earth because they are dark and reflect very little sunlight. We first learned about the existence of Jupiter’s rings in 1979 thanks to NASA‘s Voyager 2 spacecraft, when it flew past the planet and saw the rings illuminated by the Sun.
The rings of the largest planet in the solar system are composed of small dust particles thrown into space as a result of collisions of micrometeorites with its satellites. These impacts are so insignificant that they only knock out the dust that is held in orbit and constantly replenished with new particles.
Saturn
Everyone knows about the rings of Saturn. They consist mainly of fragments of water ice and rocks ranging in size from fractions of a millimeter to hundreds of meters.
Saturn has seven main rings, called A, B, C, D, E, F, and G, as well as a faint, extremely rarefied outer ring orbiting Phoebe’s moon (estimated at 10-20 particles per cubic meter).
Uranus
The rings of Uranus were first discovered in 1977, but it is difficult to observe and study them, as they are very, very dark.
It is believed that they are composed of lumps of dust stuck together, some of which are up to 20 meters wide.
Neptune
Neptune has five rings, the existence of which was proven by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft, which flew past the solar system’s farthest planet from the Sun in 1989.
The rings of this gas giant are made of small rocks and dust, and are also difficult to see, as they are extremely dark.
Scientists believe that the rings of gas giants appeared as a result of the destruction of their satellites, or they represent the material that was left after the formation of gas planets and their companions.
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