rings
Dwarf Planet Quaoar has a Ring
Quaoar is one of about 3,000 dwarf planets in our Solar System's Kuiper Belt. Astronomers discovered it in 2002. It's…
Are Low Density “Cotton Candy” Exoplanets Actually Just Regular Planets With Rings?
There's a type of exoplanet that astronomers sometimes refer to as cotton candy planets, or super-puffs. They're mysterious, because their…
Dwarf Planet Haumea Has a Ring
A unique opportunity to study the dwarf planet Haumea has led to an intriguing discovery: Haumea is surrounded by a…
Unprecedented Views of Saturn’s Rings as Cassini Dances Death Spiral
As the Cassini spacecraft moves ever closer to Saturn, new images provide some of the most-detailed views yet of the…
Why Do Planets Have Rings?
Planet come in a wide variety of sizes, compositions, and colors - and they can sometimes have rings. Where do…
Saturn’s Rings Continue to Surprise Scientists
If you try to apply simple common sense to how Saturn's rings really work you're going to be sorely mistaken:…
What Would Earth Look Like With Rings?
People have often wondered what Earth would look like if it had Saturn's rings. JPL's Kevin Gill lets them know…
“Super Saturn” Has an Enormous Ring System and Maybe Even Exomoons
Astronomers watching the repeated and drawn-out dimming of a relatively nearby Sun-like star have interpreted their observations to indicate an eclipse…
If Earth Had Saturn’s Rings, This is What it Would Look Like
We Earthlings love to dream, conjure and extrapolate. If you pose a question such as, "What if Earth had Saturn's…
Surprise! Asteroid Hosts A Two-Ring Circus Above Its Surface
Rings are a tough phenomenon to spot. As late as 1977, astronomers thought that the only thing in the solar…