# Stable Ring Systems Possible or Impossible without Moons

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stable-ring-systems-possible-or-impossible-without-moons/684689>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 27, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stable-ring-systems-possible-or-impossible-without-moons/684689 "2014-03-27T17:31:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stable-ring-systems-possible-or-impossible-without-moons/684689/1 "2014-03-27T17:31:41Z")

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Is the stability of a stable ring system dependent upon the body having moons, maybe moons of at least a certain mass and orbital distance? That is, can you have a stable ring system but no moons?

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stable-ring-systems-possible-or-impossible-without-moons/684689/2 "2014-03-27T17:41:19Z")

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I’m not capable of speaking of the physics of your question. However, a day or two ago we got news of an asteroid with rings. There was no mention of any moons around it.

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**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stable-ring-systems-possible-or-impossible-without-moons/684689/3 "2014-03-27T17:47:35Z")

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> [@AskNott](#):
>
> I’m not capable of speaking of the physics of your question. However, a day or two ago we got news of an asteroid with rings. There was no mention of any moons around it.

Actually, something I read in the news of that discovery is what made me think of the question:

[QUOTE=Some Scientist]  
The asteroid rings also suggests the presence of a still-undiscovered moon around Chariklo that’s keeping them stable.  
[/QUOTE]

> **[Asteroid Found with Rings! First-of-Its-Kind Discovery Stuns Astronomers...](https://www.space.com/25225-asteroid-rings-discovery-video-images.html)**
>
> The asteroid Chariklo between Saturn and Uranus has rings, scientists reveal today (March 26). See images and video of the asteroid Chariklo and its rings.