Theory of Saturns Rings

[HD80606]

So, for a good while, there have been many theories as to how the rings of Saturn formed. Only 2 main theories are in debate to this day.

- The rings formed with the remaining rubble after the planets formation.

- Saturn ripped apart a moon that got too close.

Do any of you submit to any of these theories? If so which one amd why?

[acey]

They're made almost entirely from ice, not rubble. Wikipedia goes for the disrupted moon theory (and cites a 2008 paper in Science) so I'll go with that.

Rings of Saturn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Though according to this 2009 article it's still an open question:

http://www.space.com/7165-enduring-mystery-saturn-rings.html

and the NASA JPL site says that the Cassini mission showed that the rings aren't all of the same age, and didn't all form in the same way:

http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/science/index.cfm?SciencePageID=55

This 2010 article is also interesting:

http://www.physorg.com/news195368117.html

[HD80606]

Although not everything on Wiki is true, but I'm backing the Moon Theory

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

Space Fairies.

[PeterJB]

The fact that all the gas giants possess rings suggests that their greater masses enable them to rip apart moons and create stable ring systems.

[Capricorn]

Since they seem to be made of ice that would rule out both options. Since rubble would be the result of both, not ice.

[HD80606]

But it is possible that the moon that it ripped apart was prodominately made of ice with very little rock, so the moon theory is a highly plausible explanition

[Cath]

How do you start with an ice planet/moon in the first place though?

You'd think as a planet/moon is forming that it would not only attract ice but also rock.

[HD80606]

Yes, that's true but there are other moons like Enceladus which is believed to have an ocean under its surface, making it mainly water if true. So its not completely ridiculous to have a moon mainly ice

[George Jones]

The outer solar system has a much higher ratio of ice/ rock than the inner because the lower temperature of the outer solar system allowed ice to form that didn't form in the inner solar system. From The Cosmic Perspective by Bennett, Donahue, Schneider, and Voit:

Accretion should have occurred similarly in the outer solar system, but condensation of ices meant that there was more solid material. Thus, the planetesimals that accreted in the outer solar system contained large amounts of ice in addition to metal and rock. The solid objects that reside in the outer solar system today, such as comets and the moons of jovian planets, still show this ice-rich composition.

[assasincz]

I believe that it has been observed that cryovulcanic activities on some of the Saturn's moons offer the escaping water/ice so much escape velocity that it actually escapes their gravitational pull and gets to orbit Saturn, thus the Saturn's rigns are constantly replenished with "fresh" ice material.

It is also said that the Saturn's rings are predominantly made of ice, which makes them so reflective and bright. If it were made of rocky material, it's albedo characteristics would be vastly different, making it dimmer.

Perhaps there is a link....or perhaps, I am missing a great deal of it

[HD80606]

Enceladus, mainly only contributes to the outer most ring with it's jets. It doesn't have much to do with rings A-E

[shellfish]

Space Fairies.

Stick with the Fairies you might upset them if you say they didn't do it:evil6: