The beauty of Saturn’s rings have resulted in the planet being nicknamed the Jewel of the Solar System. However, all of the gas giants have systems of rings around them, including the king of the planets, Jupiter.
- Halo — This is a faint, wide doughnut-shaped ring, and the closest to Jupiter.
- The Main ring — Extending out of the halo ring is the Main ring. The two small moons Adrastea and Metis orbit here within the main ring and are thought to be the source of dust of this ring.
- Gossamer rings — These are very faint and wide composed of microscopic debris from the moons Amalthea and Thebe. The Gossamer rings extend beyond the orbit of the moon Amalthea.
It is not entirely clear how ring systems form in general. Jupiter’s faint rings are likely from meteor bombardment of its moons, sending material into space. However, other stronger ring systems have numerous plausible origins. It’s possible they come from material leftover from the formation of our solar system, captured by the planets. Alternatively they could be broken up pieces of the gas giant’s moons, perhaps resulting from a catastrophic collision or being torn apart by the gravity of the planet itself.
Credit : Royal Museums Greenwich
Picture Credit : Google
