The ethereal, evanescent rings of Jupiter

3D ModelNoAI

Saturn is well known for its magnificent system of planetary rings. However, Saturn is not the only planet in the solar system to have rings. Jupiter also has a faint system of planetary rings that consists mostly of dust. Its ring system (see Figure below) is made of a thick inner, faint torus of dust and particles known as the “halo ring” and a thin and relatively bright outer “main ring” made of dust ejected from the moons Metis and Adrastea plus small bodies (rocks) resulting from high-velocity impacts. At greater distances, two other wider and fainter components complete the system of rings, the so-called “gossamer rings” named for the moons Amalthea and Thebes of whose material the rings are composed. The model features an artist’s view of the rings of Jupiter.

Figure: Jupiter’s Ring Structure and the Moons affecting it. Credit: NASA