• Question: Are the rings on saturn the only planet to have rings? - and how are rings formed around a planet?

    Asked by eshanip1017 to Alan, Francesca, Lilly, Nick on 19 Mar 2014.
    • Photo: Alan Fitzsimmons

      Alan Fitzsimmons answered on 19 Mar 2014:

      No, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings! But they are far too faint to see without a very big telescope.

      Rings are made when a moon gets too close to a planet. The gravity of the planet rips the moon apart into small bits, but those bits continue going around the planet. They spread out around the planet, and make a ring.

      Did you know we’ve had a spacecraft called Cassini orbiting the planet Saturn for 10 years, looking at its rings and moons? If you go to the website you can see the latest pictures it has taken
      http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov

    • Photo: Nick Wright

      Nick Wright answered on 20 Mar 2014:

      Actually many other planets have rings, including Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, though their rings are very faint! Rings are made when a moon gets ripped apart by the planet’s gravity when it gets too close to the planet.

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