Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Rings of Jupiter
This is a list of the named rings of Jupiter.
Jupiter has a faint planetary ring system composed of smoke-like dust particles knocked off of its moons by meteor impacts. The main ring is made of dust from the satellites Adrastea and Metis. Two wide gossamer rings encircle the main ring, originating from Thebe and Amalthea. There is also an extremely tenuous and distant outer ring that circles Jupiter backwards. Its origin is uncertain, but this outer ring might be made of captured interplanetary dust.
| Name | Distance from Jupiter's centre (km) | Width (km) |
| 1979 J1R ('Halo Ring') | 100,000 - 122,800 | 22,800 |
| 1979 J2R ('Main Ring') | 122,800 - 129,200 | 6,400 |
| 1979 J3R ('Gossamer Ring') | 129,200 - 214,200 | 85,000 |
10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details