What are Saturn's Rings Made Of?
Saturn's rings are made of ice chunks of various sizes surrounded by Saturn's 60 moons and moonlets!
Some of the chunks of ice, ranging in size from mere microns to several meters have been in existence since the formation of Saturn itself; while others are continuously broken down and reformed by repeated collisions with each other.
Scientists have categorized several distinct rings based on size and composition and each ring is separated by a visible gap.
The way you learned your ABC's in Kindergarten does not apply when describing Saturn's rings. Beginning from the innermost ring and moving progressively outward, they are not in alphabetical order.
The faint innermost ring of Saturn is the D ring followed by the C ring. Both are faint and contain no moons (that have been discovered to date). The B ring is the largest and brightest of Saturn's rings and contains several visible gaps. The Cassini Division is the large gap that separates the Saturn's B ring from its A ring.
The Encke Gap is located within the A ring, which contains the moon Pan. Wobbles in the A ring are caused by resonance disruptions from other orbiting moons. Recently, scientists have discovered that new ring material may be generated from Saturn's moons. Saturn's A ring also contains the small moon Daphnis. Several other small moonlets have been discovered in the A ring, detectable only by the visible, v-shaped disruptions they cause.
Saturn's F ring lies outside the A ring and contains the moons Prometheus and Pandora. Janus and Epimetheus are moons special enough to have their own ring designation. The particles in this ring are generated by meteoroids hitting the surface of these two moons.
The G ring is located between the F ring and the E ring. It is very faint and is acted upon by the orbit of Mimas (contained in the E ring)
Saturn's E ring is its wide, outermost ring filled with very fine particles that are thought to be generated by the moon Enceladus. Mimas, Tethys and Dione are the other moons contained within the E ring.
Rhea, Titan, Hyperion and Iapetus are Saturn's largest moons and orbit the planet outside the E ring.
We have recorded two episodes of Astronomy Cast just about Saturn. The first is Episode 59: Saturn, and the second is Episode 61: Saturn's Moons.
Filed under: Astronomy
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