Blue rings
2006/04/10 Rementeria Argote, Nagore - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa
They have just found another ring around Uranus. It is the most distant ring of the planet and of intense blue color.
The case is that the last ring of Saturn is also blue. And the similarities do not end there, because in those blue rings everyone has a moon. Saturn has Enceladus in its last blue ring, and Uranus, Mab (small moon discovered in 2003 with Hubble).
It is possible that both rings have the same color for their composition, according to the discoverers. Both are considered to consist of very small dust particles (less than one-tenth of a micron) that reflect blue light. The moon in the ring is no coincidence either.
In the image you can compare the rings of Saturn (above) with those of Uranus (below): inside they have reddish rings and outside an intense blue ring. The measurements of both planets are modified to be able to stand in front of them.
Photo: Imke by Pater, Heidi Hammel, Seran Gibbard and Mark Showalter.
