Related papers: Rings beyond the giant planets
Many nearby stars are surrounded by a bright ring or disk of cold dust. Our calculations show that these disks and rings of dust are signposts of recent planet formation. Bright rings appear because dust associated with the formation of a…
Images obtained by the Cassini spacecraft between 2012 and 2015 reveal a periodic brightness variation in a region of Saturn's D ring that previously appeared to be rather featureless. Furthermore, the intensity and radial wavenumber of…
Models are developed to simulate lightcurves of stars dimmed by transiting exoplanets with and without rings. These models are then applied to \textit{Kepler} photometry to search for planetary rings in a sample of 21 exoplanets, mostly hot…
Saturn's E ring consists of micron-sized particles launched from Enceladus by that moon's geological activity. A variety of small-scale structures in the E-ring's brightness have been attributed to tendrils of material recently launched…
We now know that the outer solar system is host to at least six diverse planetary ring systems, each of which is a scientifically compelling target with the potential to inform us about the evolution, history and even the internal structure…
Saturn's diffuse E ring consists of many tiny (micron and sub-micron) grains of water ice distributed between the orbits of Mimas and Titan. Various gravitational and non-gravitational forces perturb these particles' orbits, causing the…
The centaur (2060) Chiron has long been a candidate for hosting material in orbit, based on occultation and photometric and spectroscopic data. Here, we present a multichord stellar occultation observed on 2023 September 10 UT that reveals…
Jupiter and Saturn have extended, nearly toroidal atmospheres composed of material ejected from their moons or rings. Here we suggest that similar atmospheres must exist around giant extrasolar planets and might be observable in a transit…
Planetary rings are often speculated as being a relatively common attribute of giant planets, partly based on their prevalence within the Solar System. However, their formation and sustainability remain a topic of open discussion, and the…
A dusty ringlet designated R/2006 S3, also known as the "Charming Ringlet", is located around 119,940 km from the center of Saturn within the Laplace Gap in the Cassini Division. Prior to 2010, the ringlet had a simple radial profile and a…
Pluto and its five known satellites form a complex dynamic system. Here we explore where additional satellites could exist exterior to Charon (the innermost moon) but interior of Hydra (the outermost). We also provide dynamical constraints…
In recent years it has coming to light that the early outer Solar System likely might have somewhat more planets than today. However, to date there is unknown what a former giant planet might in fact have represented and where its orbit may…
Narrow planetary rings are eccentric and inclined. Particles within a given ring must therefore share the same pericenter and node. We solve for the three-dimensional geometries and mass distributions that enable the Uranian Alpha and Beta…
For its beautiful rings, active atmosphere and mysterious magnetic field, Saturn is a fascinating planet. It also holds some of the keys to understanding the formation of our Solar System and the evolution of giant planets in general. While…
The NASA Kepler and K2 Missions have recently revealed a population of transiting giant planets orbiting moderately evolved, low-luminosity red giant branch stars. Here, we present radial velocity measurements of three of these systems,…
We investigate four young, but non-accreting, very low mass stars in Orion, which show irregular eclipses by circumstellar dust. The eclipses are not recurring periodically, are variable in depth, lack a flat bottom, and their duration is…
Previous investigations of Saturn's outer D ring (73,200-74,000 km from Saturn's center) identified periodic brightness variations whose radial wavenumber increased linearly over time. This pattern was attributed to a vertical corrugation,…
The discovery that the centaur (10199) Chariklo possesses a ring system opens questions about their origin. We here asses the plausibility of different scenarios for the origin of the observed ring system. We first consider the possibility…
The presence of rings around a transiting planet can cause its radius to be overestimated and lead to an underestimation of its density if the mass is known. We employ a Bayesian framework to show that the anomalously low density…
The observed disparity between the radial dependence of the ion and electron densities measured by the Cassini plasma and radio science instruments are used to show that the region between the outer edge of Saturn's main rings and its…