We now know the planet with the greatest ring system isn’t Saturn.
Ancient Rings
Saturn is everyone’s favorite ringed planet. It’s ring system is both complex and extraordinarily bright. Just why it is so bright has been a bit of a mystery. It’s brightness is due to the fact that the rings are composed almost entirely of water ice, and the fact that there isn’t a great deal of dust in the rings. Because of this, it was once thought that Saturn’s rings were generally young. If the ring system were old, one would expect it to darken over time as dust and other debris from the solar system accumulate over time. This also agreed with the idea that such a complex ring system would likely be unstable over millions of years.
Ripples
The rings of Saturn are among the more beautiful objects in our solar system. With their subtle variations they seem fragile, as if the slightest disruption would cause them to fall apart like a house of cards. In fact the rings are quite old, dating back about four billion years or more. They have evolved over time, and were likely much more extensive in the past, but they are hardly fragile.
Lord of the Rings
All of the outer planets (and at least one asteroid) have ring systems, but none are nearly so bright and extensive as those of Saturn. Saturn will always be known as the ringed planet.
Put a Ring On It
Astronomers have found an asteroid with a ring system. While this is the first discovery of a ring system about an asteroid, such a thing isn’t entirely unexpected. But what’s particularly interesting is how they discovered these rings.