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History of Planetary Rings. 13 November 2018. Key ideas for ring origin. Roche limit Clumping in the tidal environment Genetic relation of moons and rings: not just brothers and sisters, but parents and children Theories for ring formation
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History of Planetary Rings 13 November 2018
Key ideas for ring origin • Roche limit • Clumping in the tidal environment • Genetic relation of moons and rings: not just brothers and sisters, but parents and children • Theories for ring formation • Cassini results show the rings are young, but provides no good models
Dotted: Roche Dashed: Synchronous Interspersed moons and rings
Uranus rings
Uranus’ new rings from Hubble
Theories for the origin of Saturn's rings • One theory suggests that the ring particles are leftover debris from the formation of the planet itself. • Another idea is that the rings are debris from a satellite that was unable to form. • Probably the most likely theory is that the particles are the result of an icy satellite that was shattered by an impact with a comet. • A recent proposal by Canup is they are from a differentiated moon, torn apart by tides