Contact: Lee Tune
ltune@umd.edu
301-405-4679
University of Maryland

Jupiter's Rings

Caption: Jupiter's rings consist of bands of widely scattered dust particles generated by the impact of space debris into the planet's small inner moons, Adrastea, Metis, Amalthea and Thebe. This dust is organized into a main ring, an inner halo, and two fainter and more distant gossamer rings. The rings largely are bounded by the orbits of these four moons. However, a faint outward protrusion of dust (not show here) extends beyond the orbit of Thebe.

Credit: Courtesy NASA

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