2007-02-18 08:31:29 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
URRGh! this is so annoying! How come these people are so ignorant? There is very little gas in saturns rings, as it gets attracted towards the planet itself and becomes part of the atmosphere. The rings are composed of small lumps of dusty ice and small rocks which range in size from grains of sand to small boulders, perhaps a meter or two across. Anything bigger than that would be called a moon.
The rings formed when small objects came too close to the planet, and the so called 'gravity differential' was distinct enough to pull the object appart. The rings have different concentrations of various elements, such as gases or metals, and this suggests that the rings all formed at different times. New ones are still being formed!
It is true that all the gas giant planets (Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn) have rings, and like all of the above it has moons. The smallest are insignificant boulders barely large enough to be called a sphere, while the largest one is a small planet called titan. This planet is interesting because it resembles prehistoric earth, and there may be organic compounds on the surface that are the precursor to life forms.
Rings and moons are assumed to exist around other gas giant planets orbiting other stars. A gas giant is classified by its composition. They are huge balls of gas that have compressed to form liquid, but not enough to ignite and so become a star. their gravity is so immense it would be fatal to stand on the surface (In fact jupiter is so huge that you would be dead before you left orbit).
2007-02-18 09:00:45 · answer #1 · answered by Maximillian 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The rings are actually made up of billions of tiny bits of ice and rock, some the size of a dust grain, some the size of a building, but on average they are the size of a backpack. Each bit individually orbits the planet.
All 4 gas giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) have rings, but Saturn's is by far the easiest to see. The rings around the other planets have less material and are made of more dark dust than Saturn's rings, and less bright ice.
Note: there is very little, if any, gas in the rings
2007-02-18 08:41:46 · answer #2 · answered by kris 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Saturn has rings orbiting around it. Those rings are made of debris, rocks and other similar objects ranging from a few millimeters in diameter to a few kilometers.
All the outer planets, or gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) have a ring system.
Wikipedia has some nice articles, if you want to find out more.
2007-02-18 08:41:39 · answer #3 · answered by Tenebra98 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Saturn (and all the other gas giants) have ring systems revolving around the planets.
Saturn's ring system is the largest around any of the planets, and the most complex. The rings of Saturn are the most visible on earth because of the amount and composition of the ring material (mostly ice).
2007-02-18 08:34:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Kris is correct. How come people think the rings are gas? They have been photographed from fairly close up and they are made up of ice, rocks and particles.
And where have you been? Galileo first saw the rings 400 years ago, and I would have thought everybody on the planet knew that Saturn had rings, even if they didn't know what they were made of.
2007-02-18 08:46:07 · answer #5 · answered by nick s 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
"COMPOSITION:
There are seven rings around Saturn, each represented by a letter (A-G). The rings are around 20,000 kilometers wide, but less than 2 kilometers thick. They are believed to be millions of moonlets, made up of ice, orbiting together. These moonlets are usually a few kilometers across (Just imagine cars floating around Saturn). The moonlets are far enough apart so that they appear solid, but in fact, are not solid. Stars can be seen through them."
2007-02-18 08:45:06 · answer #6 · answered by moonshadow79 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
in the adventure that they were floating on the floor of Saturn and had a sparkling view of the sky they might see a marvelous arc in the sky (it will be seen basically as our moon is seen to us). in the adventure that they were close to the pole it is plausible they might see the unbroken ring around the horizon.
2016-12-04 08:26:35 · answer #7 · answered by crabtree 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Saturn's rings are made up of Ice, water, dust particales and fluorescent hydroxil emissions have been discovered as well, among other substances.
2007-02-18 11:14:48 · answer #8 · answered by Jilly 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The ring around Saturn that you see is a ring of gas that is held in orbit by the gravity of Saturn.
2007-02-18 08:34:10 · answer #9 · answered by deadmeet 1 · 0⤊ 6⤋
The rings are gas and dust particles. They surround all of the outer, gas giant ploanets,--Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. I exclude Pluto because it's a rocky iceball, not a planet, and has no rings.
2007-02-18 08:37:24 · answer #10 · answered by DinDjinn 7 · 1⤊ 5⤋