How Many Planets Have Rings Around Them

The detailed study of the stars, planets, galaxies and comets are applied in the understanding of the cosmic background radiation that takes place consistently beyond the atmosphere of the Earth is known as astronomy. Astronomy is one of the oldest sciences. Earlier, astronomers were very methodical in the approach of their observations of the night sky. This observation-based science was only able to develop into the modern science it is today, after the invention of the telescope.

How Many Planets Have Rings Around Them

Many of us know about the rings around the planet Saturn. But are you aware of the fact that there are other planets, which have rings around them? The planets that have rings apart from Saturn are Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus.

The Rings of Saturn: The rings of Saturn were discovered by Galileo in 1610. One of the prominent features of Saturn is the ring, which consists of ice particles and rocky debris. In 1980 and 1981, the spacecraft Voyager I and II send the images of the rings of Saturn to the Earth. These rings are named in alphabetical letter in the order of their discovery. The rings working outward from the planet are named as C, B, and A. Largest gap that separates the two rings is that of A and B; it is known as the Cassini division. The ring that is closer to the planet is D and this ring is faint. The rings are gaseous in nature and are composed of water ice, which are of the size ranging from microns to meters in size. Read about the moons of Saturn.

The Rings of Jupiter: The planet Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and is 5th from the sun. Jupiter’s rings are made up of three ring patterns: one, the halo, which is the innermost ring; second, the main ring in the middle; and third, the gossamer ring, which is the outermost one. In fact, the Galileo Probe discovered that the gossamer ring is actually made up of two rings, with one ring embedded into the other. These rings have a very thin consistency, and are made up mostly of microscopic dust particles and fragments of rocks. The rings of Jupiter lose material continuously and are replenished with new dust, which form from the micrometeors that hit the inner moons of Jupiter.

The Rings of Uranus: William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781, and this was the first planet to be discovered using a telescope. The rings of Uranus were discovered in 1977. Nine rings encircle this planet. The rings outward from the planet were named as 6, 5, 4, Alpha, Beta, Eta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. In 1986, the spacecraft Voyager send some of the best images of the ring system to the space station. The images revealed the belts of fine dust surrounding the nine rings.

The Rings of Neptune: Neptune was the first planet to be discovered through mathematical predictions rather than through telescope. In 1846, at the Berlin Observatory, Johann Gottfried Galle confirmed the presence of Neptune. The rings of Neptune are incomplete arcs. They were first discovered in the mid-1980s. In 1989, the images send by spacecraft Voyager II confirmed that the ring system of Neptune contains several faint rings. The outermost ring is known as Adams and this contains the three main arcs named as Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Later, the Voyager cameras detected many more rings, such as Arago ring, Galle ring and Lassell ring.

The outer space has held mankind in awe for centuries and they are still mesmerized by the movements of the various celestial bodies. Are you interested in knowing more about space exploration?