Uranus rings
Uranus has a faint system of 13 narrow, elliptical-shaped rings, composed of dark dust and rocks up to about 10 meters in diameter. The ring system was discovered in 1977, during an occultation of a star by the planet. As the star first approached and then receded behind the planet it appear to blink off and on – a blinking found to be due to a system of rings
Rings data* |
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| Name | Distance** | Width | Thickness |
| 1986U2RZ | 37,000 km | 2,500 km | ? |
| Zeta - ζ | 37,850 km | 3,500 km | 1 km |
| 6 | 41,837 km | 1-2 km | 0.41 km |
| 5 | 42,234 km | 2-4 km | 0.91 km |
| 4 | 42,570 km | 2-4 km | 0.71 km |
| Alpha - α | 44,718 km | 5-10 km | 3.39 km |
| Beta - β | 45,661 km | 6-11 km | 2.14 km |
| Eta - η | 47,175 km | 2-3 km | 0.42 km |
| Gamma - γ | 47,627 km | 3-4 km | 3.3 km |
| Delta - δ | 48,300 km | 4-6 km | 2.2 km |
| Lambda - λ | 50,023 km | 1-2 km | 0.2 km |
| Epsilon - ε | 51,149 km | 19-96 km | 47 km |
| Nu - ν | 67,300 km | 3,800 km | 0.012 km |
| Mu - μ | 97,700 km | 17,000 km | 0.14 km |
* Data from Wikipedia 2019
** Distance to the center of Uranus
Diagram of the ring-satellite system of Uranus. Solid lines indicate rings. The discontinuous ones, the orbits of its satellites. Diagram from Ruslik0, 2008.