Rings of Jupiter facts for kids
The Rings of Jupiter are a number of rings which circle the planet Jupiter. It was the third set of rings found in the Solar System after the rings found around Saturn and Uranus. The rings are very difficult to see from Earth, needing the most powerful telescopes. They were not discovered until the Voyager 1 space probe visited the planet in 1979. The Galileo space probe carried out more studies in the 1990s. The Hubble Space Telescope and large Earth telescopes have provided information recently.
The ring system is faint and is made mainly of dust. It has four main parts: a thick inner ring known as the "halo" ring, a bright but very thin "main" ring, and two outer, wide, faint "gossamer" rings. These gossamer rings are made from dust from the moons Amalthea and Thebe and have been name after them. They are known as gossamer rings because they are transparent, or "see through".
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
