Vital Statistics for Jupiter’s Rings
Rings of Jupiter
| Feature | Inner Boundary (km) | Outer Boundary (km) | Optical Depth | Vertical Thickness (km) | Type | Associated Moons | Footnotes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halo | 100,000 | 122,400 | ~10^-6 | ~10,000 | Tenuous, broad | 1,2 | Densest in a central core < 1000 km thick. | |
| Main Ring | 122,400 | 129,100 | < 8 x 10^-6 | 100 | Tenuous, broad | Metis, Adrastea | 1,2 | Metis and Adrastea orbit near its outer edge. |
| Amalthea Gossamer Ring | 122,400 | 181,350 | ~5 x 10^-7 | 2600 | Tenuous, broad | Amalthea | 1,2 | Inner component of the Gossamer Ring, bounded by the orbit of Amalthea. Inner boundary is not well defined. |
| Thebe Gossamer Ring | 122,400 | 221,900 | ~10^-7 | 8800 | Tenuous, broad | Thebe | 1,2 | Outer component of the Gossamer Ring, bounded by the orbit of Thebe. |
| Thebe Extension | 221,900 | 270,000 | ~10^-9 | 8800 | Tenuous, broad | Thebe | 1,2 | A very faint outward extension to the Thebe Ring. |
The table of Jupiter’s inner satellites can be found here.
Sources
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De Pater, I., et al. 2018. The rings of Jupiter. In M. S. Tiscareno and C. D. Murray (eds.), Planetary Ring Systems, Cambridge University Press, 125-134. DOI: 10.1017/9781316286791.006
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Burns, J.A., et al. 1999. The formation of Jupiter’s faint rings. Science 284, 1146-1150. DOI:10.1126/science.284.5417.1146
