New Dust Belts of Uranus: One Ring, Two Ring, Red Ring, Blue Ring
Abstract
We compared near-infrared observations of the recently discovered outer rings of Uranus with Hubble Space Telescope results. We find that the inner ring, R/2003 U 2, is red, whereas the outer ring, R/2003 U 1, is very blue. Blue is an unusual color for rings; Saturn's enigmatic E ring is the only other known example. By analogy to the E ring, R/2003 U 1 is probably produced by impacts into the embedded moon Mab, which apparently orbits at a location where nongravitational perturbations favor the survival and spreading of submicron-sized dust. R/2003 U 2 more closely resembles Saturn's G ring, which is red, a typical color for dusty rings.
- Publication:
-
Science
- Pub Date:
- April 2006
- DOI:
- 10.1126/science.1125110
- Bibcode:
- 2006Sci...312...92D
- Keywords:
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- PLANET SCI