Jupiter has a very faint system of rings that was discovered by the Voyager space probes in the 1970s. There are three distinct rings, all formed by material knocked off the planet’s four inner moons. Adrastea, Metis, Amalthea and Thehe all orbit very close to the planet, and are constantly bombarded by meteorites. The dust blasted from these tiny moons is added to the planet’s rings.
Early in its mission to Jupiter, the Galileo spacecraft made observations that provided confirmation on how Jupiter’s rings were formed, as the dust was seen to coincide with small moon locations: the two Gossamer rings near the small moons Amalthea and Thebe and the main ring near Adrastea and Metis. Scientists had long believed that dust coming off of Adrastea and Metis formed the main ring, but were unsure of the origin of the Gossamer rings.
Jupiter’s rings are formed from dust particles hurled up by micro-meteor impacts on Jupiter’s small inner moons and captured into orbit. If the impacts on the moons were any larger, then the larger dust thrown up would be pulled back down to the moon’s surface by gravity. The rings must constantly be replenished with new dust from the moons to exist.
Picture Credit : Google
