The rings are fairly shiny despite being bombarded by dust, indicating that they haven’t been around for very long.
planetary rings
Quaoar’s Ring Defies Gravity
The dwarf planet’s ring makes astronomers question whether a long-held theory about ring and moon formation needs tweaking.
Mercury Isn’t Alone in Orbit, and Scientists Don’t Know Why
A cloud of dust traces the innermost planet’s orbital path. By all accounts, it shouldn’t be there.
Long-Gone Moon Could Explain Birth of Saturn’s Rings
Named Chrysalis, the moon could have disintegrated during a close encounter with the gas giant roughly 100 million years ago.
Can Uranus’s Rings Reveal the Planet’s Deepest Secrets?
Planetary rings can act as seismometers that respond to changes deep within a planet.
Using Saturn’s Rings as a Seismometer
The Cassini spacecraft observed spiral density waves in the rings of Saturn which can be used to probe its interior structure and rotation.