Astronomers Discover Ring System around Distant Planet That’s So Huge That It’s Bigger Than Saturn’s

(Image: Artist’s Conception of the ring system by Ron Miller)

Star J1407 is about 400 light years away from our solar system. 2 years ago, scientists discovered that one of the planets orbiting it has a ring system, just as Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune do. This was the first known ring system outside of our own solar system.

Scientists at the Leiden Observatory in the Netherlands and the University of Rochester in the US have learned more about this system. It’s huge—much, much larger than that of Saturn. Phys.Org reports:

"This planet is much larger than Jupiter or Saturn, and its ring system is roughly 200 times larger than Saturn's rings are today," said co-author Mamajek, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester. "You could think of it as kind of a super Saturn."

-via David Thompson


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