# Rings of Saturn **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rings-of-saturn/213816 "2003-11-18T01:05:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![One\_Bad\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@One\_Bad\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_Bad_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rings-of-saturn/213816/1 "2003-11-18T01:05:37Z")
When I was in astronomy club in high school I seem to remember seeing photos of Saturn’s rings which appeared to have “spokes”, or at least darker areas in the rings that spread not just through one ring, but several. They were not a uniform size or shape. My teacher said something about dark matter, but can’t there be other explanations? What if a body went flying through the rings? Would there be a kind of ripple effect like in water to replace the missing or displaced bits? Have they already solved this mystery and I missed it since being out of the loop for so long? ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rings-of-saturn/213816/2 "2003-11-18T01:16:32Z")
[Image of the spokes](http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/cgibin/gs2.cgi?path=../gallery/saturn/images/image25.jpg&type=image) > [@](#): > > Scientists think electromagnetic forces are responsible in some way for these features, but no detailed theory has been worked out… It is… suspected that the tiny dust grains which form the spokes are electrically charged. I have no idea what this might have to do with dark matter. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rings-of-saturn/213816/3 "2003-11-18T01:42:22Z")
[http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/saturn.html](http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets/nineplanets/saturn.html) The divisions in the rings are actually relatively void of dust; they really are gaps. The recent guess is that the rings are not stable, and are the result of chewing up comets or asteroids. Each ring may be from a different event. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rings-of-saturn/213816/4 "2003-11-18T01:51:41Z")
Also, since the rings appear to have shepherding moons, gravitational influences probably come into play. [Ring dynamics](http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/Academics/Astr221/SolarSys/Rings/dynamics.html) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rings-of-saturn/213816/5 "2003-11-18T01:55:21Z")
My link lists the reason **Achenar** postulated for the “spokes.” Not gravity. Many of the other ring oddities are gravitaional in nature. ---
**Author:** ![One\_Bad\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/51bf81/32.png) [@One\_Bad\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_Bad_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2003, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rings-of-saturn/213816/6 "2003-11-25T06:44:35Z")
It was back in '95 or '96 when I last heard about it. Thank you all so much for your information and excellent sources! I never really attributed anything to the moons, which is silly of me!