why are rings on a planet in a uniform layer and not all over like orbiting satellites?

Question

saturn
?

Answer 1

Due to the steady state rotation and revolution of the planet. Gravitational force is the reason.
It is just like our atmosphere sticking to earth steadily.
In case of Saturn, it was expected that collisions between ring particles would tend to make the rings uniform, but Voyager I found changing structures in the radial direction that are termed "spokes".

Answer 2

The particles making up the rings are very small, a lot smaller than even the smallest satellites. So they are very much influenced by the planet's gravity.
The physics of motion in a gravity field proves that orbiting objects, over time, will gradually move into an equatorial orbit due to tidal forces on the objects. The tidal forces are at a minimum in an equatorial orbit.
Given enough time, the other satellites would gradually end up in equatorial orbits as well - but that would probably take longer than the solar system has left.

Answer 3

The particles are all in a common orbital plane. So are the moons (satellites) for the most part too.

With Cassini data, astrophysicists are now attributing the majority of ring material as water ejecta from geysers on Enceladus. The ring material gradually falls in as its orbit decays; that's why the material changes colour as you approach Saturn.

The rings are 200,000 miles in outside diameter, and 1/50 of a mile thick -- 100 feet.

Answer 4

I guess it's because whatever forces put one satellite into its orbit also acted on the other satellites in the same way (why wouldn't they?) so they all ended up in much the same plane. In contrast, our artificial satellites aren't put into place by the same forces but rather by different forces in each case --that is, by different rockets aimed in different directions, so that their orbits end up all over the place.
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