The rings and inner moons of Jupiter
The rings and inner moons of Jupiter
This schematic sectional view of the components of Jupiter's ring system shows the geometry of the rings in relation to Jupiter and the four small inner satellites that are the source of the dust that forms the rings. The innermost and thickest ring, shaded gray and tubular, is the so-called 'halo', which merges into the main ring on the outside. The thin, narrow main ring, shaded red, is bounded by the 20-kilometer-wide moon Adrastea and shows a sharp dip in brightness near the orbit of Metis, Jupiter's innermost moon. It consists of fine particles derived from Adrastea and Metis. Although the orbits of Adrastea and Metis are about 1,000 kilometers apart, this separation is not shown in this graphic. Impacts of small meteoroids on these small, low-gravity moons "feed" the rings. Thebe and Amalthea, the closest two satellites further away from Jupiter, provide dust that forms the thicker, disk-like, razor-thin rings.
