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12.5 Planetary rings  (Page 2/21)

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Four ring systems.

A graph showing the locations of the ring systems of the four giant planets. From top to bottom on the left are the labels “Jupiter”, “Saturn”, “Uranus”, and “Neptune”. The y axis is labeled “Planet Surface”. A dotted line labeled “Tidal stability limit” runs vertically from the mid right hand side of the x-axis. The ring systems are shown for each planet, with dots indicating moons. Only very small moons remain to the left of the Tidal stability limit.
This diagram shows the locations of the ring systems of the four giant planets. The left axis represents the planet’s surface. The dotted vertical line is the limit inside which gravitational forces can break up moons (each planet’s system is drawn to a different scale, so that this stability limit lines up for all four of them). The black dots are the inner moons of each planet on the same scale as its rings. Notice that only really small moons survive inside the stability limit.

Rings of saturn

Saturn’s rings are one of the most beautiful sights in the solar system ( [link] ). From outer to inner, the three brightest rings are labeled with the extremely unromantic names of A, B, and C Rings. [link] gives the dimensions of the rings in both kilometers and units of the radius of Saturn, R Saturn . The B Ring is the brightest and has the most closely packed particles, whereas the A and C Rings are translucent.

The total mass of the B Ring, which is probably close to the mass of the entire ring system, is about equal to that of an icy moon 250 kilometers in diameter (suggesting that the ring could have originated in the breakup of such a moon). Between the A and B Rings is a wide gap named the Cassini Division after Gian Domenico Cassini, who first glimpsed it through a telescope in 1675 and whose name planetary scientists have also given to the Cassini spacecraft exploring the Saturn system.

Saturn’s rings as seen from above and below.

Image A is a view of a portion of Saturn’s Rings from above. Image B is a view of a portion of Saturn’s Rings from below.
(a) The view from above is illuminated by direct sunlight. (b) The illumination seen from below is sunlight that has diffused through gaps in the rings. (credit a, b: modification of work by NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute)
Selected Features in the Rings of Saturn
Ring Name The ring letters are assigned in the order of their discovery. Outer Edge
( R Saturn )		 Outer Edge
(km)		 Width
(km)
F 2.324 140,180 90
A 2.267 136,780 14,600
Cassini Division 2.025 122,170 4590
B 1.949 117,580 25,580
C 1.525 92,000 17,490

Saturn’s rings are very broad and very thin. The width of the main rings is 70,000 kilometers, yet their average thickness is only 20 meters. If we made a scale model of the rings out of paper, we would have to make them 1 kilometer across. On this scale, Saturn itself would loom as high as an 80-story building. The ring particles are composed primarily of water ice, and they range from grains the size of sand up to house-sized boulders. An insider’s view of the rings would probably resemble a bright cloud of floating snowflakes and hailstones, with a few snowballs and larger objects, many of them loose aggregates of smaller particles ( [link] ).

Artist’s idealized impression of the rings of saturn as seen from the inside.

An artist’s impression of the inside of the rings of Saturn, showing floating chunks of ice floating together in small groups.
Note that the rings are mostly made of pieces of water ice of different sizes. At the end of its mission, the Cassini spacecraft is planning to cut through one of the gaps in Saturn’s rings , but it won’t get this close. (credit: modification of work by NASA/JPL/University of Colorado)

In addition to the broad A, B, and C Rings, Saturn has a handful of very narrow rings no more than 100 kilometers wide. The most substantial of these, which lies just outside the A Ring, is called the F Ring ; its surprising appearance is discussed below. In general, Saturn’s narrow rings resemble the rings of Uranus and Neptune.

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Source:  OpenStax, Astronomy. OpenStax CNX. Apr 12, 2017 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11992/1.13
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