Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day we feature a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

August 2, 1995
See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.
Jupiter's Rings
Credit: NASA, Voyager Project

Explanation: Astronomers using NASA's Voyager spacecraft to search for a ring system around Jupiter discovered these faint rings in 1979. Unlike Saturn's bright rings which are composed of chunks of rock and ice, Jupiter's rings appear to consist of fine particles of dust. One possibility is that the dust is produced by impacts with Jupiter's inner moons. This false color image has been computer enhanced.

The gas giant planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are all known to have rings. For more information about planetary ring systems see the Planetary Rings Node.

Tomorrow's picture: A Volcanic Moon

We keep a chronological archive and a subject sorted archive of Astronomy Pictures of the Day.
Astronomy Picture of the Day (TM) is created and copyrighted in 1995 by Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell who are solely responsible for its content.