what is the smallest size planet that could have rings.
All the planets in our system that have rings are jovian, but some people have said in the far future the moon of Mars, Phobos will brake up and become a ring, howver i thought Mars would be too small.
2007-05-12 00:42:24 · 7 answers · asked by olie b 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Phobos is going to spiral into Mars and probably cause a super crater there in a few billion years. Recent studies say that the mass of the planet has to be sufficient to hold rings but shepherd moons that are a part of the rubble are required to pull them and hold them in the ring structure.
2007-05-12 01:34:19 · answer #1 · answered by Gene 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mars doesn't have a moon....I apologize, Phobos and Deimos
It's theorized that the rings around a planet are broken up fragments and chunk of what would have eventually been a moon.
2007-05-12 07:47:01 · answer #2 · answered by Jack 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
477 days ago, NASA launched it New Horizons mission which is heading out to investigate Pluto (it's just done a "swing-by" Jupiter). Part of the planned investigation is to find out if Pluto has rings.
The closest approach to Pluto is expected in 2984 days.
On August 24, 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) formally downgraded Pluto from an official planet to a dwarf planet.
With an Equatorial Radius of 1,151 km it's not a biggie like Jupiter (Equatorial Radius: 71,492 km) or Saturn (Equatorial Radius: 60,268 km) but they obviously think rings are possible around it. In fact, it's actually smaller than our moon (Equatorial Radius: 1737.4 km)
Hope that helps.
2007-05-12 09:02:04 · answer #3 · answered by flameonthewater 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Neptune is the smallest because of it's distance from earth and the sun but there is doubt that it is a planet. Mercury would be the next smallest but does not have the sort of gravity to form a ring like saturn uranus.
2007-05-12 08:23:10 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Mars has two Moons, they are both tiny captured asteroids, Phobos, and Deimos.
2007-05-12 11:43:17 · answer #5 · answered by Wedge 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i dont think mars has a moon...but anyway it cant become its rings because rings are formed from chunks of ice....so its not that possible......
2007-05-12 11:06:27 · answer #6 · answered by al_that_2_u 1 · 0⤊ 3⤋
your anus has a ring around it
2007-05-12 07:57:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 6⤋