Rings of Jupiter facts for kids
The Rings of Jupiter are a fascinating system of rings that go around the giant planet Jupiter. These rings were the third set discovered in our Solar System. Before Jupiter's rings, we only knew about the rings around Saturn and Uranus.
Jupiter's rings are quite hard to see from Earth. You need very powerful telescopes to spot them! Scientists didn't even know they existed until 1979. That's when the Voyager 1 space probe flew past Jupiter and sent back amazing pictures. Later, the Galileo space probe studied the rings even more in the 1990s. More recently, the Hubble Space Telescope and big telescopes on Earth have given us even more details.
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What are Jupiter's Rings Made Of?
Jupiter's ring system is very faint. It is mostly made up of tiny pieces of dust. This dust is not like the ice chunks that make up Saturn's bright rings. Jupiter's rings are much darker and harder to see.
The Four Main Rings
Jupiter's ring system has four main parts. Each part is unique:
- The halo ring is a thick, inner ring. It's the closest ring to Jupiter.
- The main ring is bright but very thin. It's the most noticeable of Jupiter's rings.
- The gossamer rings are two outer rings. They are very wide and faint.
The Gossamer Rings Explained
The two gossamer rings are named after two of Jupiter's moons: Amalthea and Thebe. This is because these rings are made from dust that comes off these moons.
The word gossamer means something very light, thin, and transparent. These rings are called gossamer because they are "see-through." You can look right through them!
Images for kids
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Mosaic of Jovian ring images with a scheme showing ring and satellite locations
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The upper image shows the main ring in back-scattered light as seen by the New Horizons spacecraft. The fine structure of its outer part is visible. The lower image shows the main ring in forward-scattered light demonstrating its lack of any structure except the Metis notch.
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Metis orbiting at the edge of Jupiter's main ring, as imaged by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2007
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Image of the main ring obtained by Galileo in forward-scattered light. The Metis notch is clearly visible.
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Schematic illustrating the formation of Jupiter's rings
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False color image of the halo ring obtained by Galileo in forward-scattered light
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Image of the gossamer rings obtained by Galileo in forward-scattered light
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Composite of six New Horizons images of the possible Himalia ring. The double exposure of Himalia is circled. The arrow points to Jupiter.
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The ring system as imaged by Galileo
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The rings as observed from the inside by Juno
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James Webb Space Telescope's photo of Jupiter and rings in infrared
See also
In Spanish: Anillos de Júpiter para niños
