Why doesn't Jupiter have Saturn-like rings? Here's the answer

What distinguishes Saturn from the rest of the planets in our Solar System are the majestic rings the planet has. These rings are so prominent, they are visible from amateur telescopes as well. The planet sure gets a regal look due to it. But what is stopping from all planets to have such a ring? size? Saturn is a giant planet in our Solar System. But so is Jupiter, in fact, Jupiter is bigger than Saturn, then why it does not have Saturn-like rings?

A recent study from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) throws light on the reason why Jupiter does not have Saturn-like rings. Findings of this study were reported in the journal Planetary Science.

UCR astrophysicist Stephen Kane led the study along with his student. Together, they ran a simulation. Into the simulation, they fed info about orbits of Jupiter's four moons and the orbit of the planet itself. They also fed information about how much time it takes to form rings around the planet.

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Kane found that the reason why Jupiter could not form Saturn-like moon was its moons. Jupiter has four main moons that were discovered by Galileo.

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We found that the Galilean moons of Jupiter, one of which is the largest moon in our solar system, would very quickly destroy any large rings that might form," Kane said.

So based on this research, it can be said that Jupiter did not have Saturn-like rings even in its past.

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