What is Rings of Uranus?
{{More sources}}[[File:Uranian rings scheme.png|300px|right|thumb|A picture of Uranus's ring system. Solid lines mean rings; dashed lines mean orbits of moons.]] The '''rings of Uranus''' are [[planetary ring]]s (circles of [[Rock (geology)|rock]] and [[cosmic dust|dust]]) around the [[planet]] [[Uranus]]. There are 13 rings in total<ref>{{Citation|title=Uranus’ rings and moons|date=2014|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/planetary-rings/uranus-rings-and-moons/C6B1668FAE7B180D974F11122F80E4E3|work=Planetary Rings: A Post-Equinox View|pages=151–154|editor-last=Esposito|editor-first=Larry W.|series=Cambridge Planetary Science|place=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-139-23696-6|access-date=2025-03-20}}</ref>. In order of increasing distance from Uranus, they are: 1986U2R/[[ζ]], 6, 5, 4, [[α]], [[β]], [[η]], [[γ]], [[δ]], [[λ]], [[ε]], [[ν]] and [[μ]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-11-10|title=Uranus: Facts - NASA Science|url=https://science.nasa.gov/uranus/facts/|access-date=2025-03-20|language=en-US}}</ref> Nine rings were found on 10 March 1977 by [[James L. Elliot]], Edward W. Dunham and [[Douglas J. Mink]]. Scientists found two more rings in 1986 in images from the [[Voyager 2]] [[spacecraft]] and two outer rings in 2003–2005 in images from the [[Hubble Space Telescope]]. Most of the rings are only a few [[kilometre]]s wide and are very dark. Most rings are made of rocks 0.2–20 [[meters]] wide. But some rings are made of very small dust particles. The closest ring is 38,000&nbsp;km away from the center of Uranus and the furthest ring is 98,000&nbsp;km away. Scientists think that the rings are at not more than 600 million years old. The ring system was created when several [[Satellite (natural)|moons]] crashed together. After crashing, the moons broke up into many pieces and made rings. People may discover more rings in the future. {{science-stub}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Rings Of Uranus}} [[Category:Uranus]]