The Rings of Neptune
On August 25th 1989 the voyager 2 space craft
flew past the planet Neptune and discovered a faint ring system there. There
are five faint but distinctive rings around the gas giant. They vary in width
from about 5,000 km to around 100 km. They are probably made form a combination
of dust and ice.
Although it was Voyager 2 that definitely discovered the
rings there had been suggestions in the past that Neptune had a faint ring
system.
The first suggestion came from William Lassell in 1846 who
discovered Neptune’s largest moon Triton that there were faint rings there.
Neptune passed in front of stars in 1968, 1981 and 1983 and there were
suggestions that the star faded very slightly just before the planet passed in
front of it suggestions that there were rings around Neptune.
However it is the Voyager 2 visit to Neptune that claims the
discovery of the rings.
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