Frontiers in Planetary Rings Science

TL;DR

This paper reviews the diversity, scientific importance, and open questions of planetary ring systems in the outer solar system, emphasizing the need for ongoing research and future missions to deepen understanding.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of current planetary ring science, highlighting open questions and advocating for continued and future investigations.

Findings

Six diverse planetary ring systems identified

Planetary rings serve as laboratories for disk physics

Future missions and telescopes will enhance understanding

Abstract

We now know that the outer solar system is host to at least six diverse planetary ring systems, each of which is a scientifically compelling target with the potential to inform us about the evolution, history and even the internal structure of the body it adorns. These diverse ring systems represent a set of distinct local laboratories for understanding the physics and dynamics of planetary disks, with applications reaching beyond our Solar System. We highlight the current status of planetary rings science and the open questions before the community to promote continued Earth-based and spacecraft-based investigations into planetary rings. As future spacecraft missions are launched and more powerful telescopes come online in the decades to come, we urge NASA for continued support of investigations that advance our understanding of planetary rings, through research and analysis of data from existing facilities, more laboratory work and specific attention to strong rings science goals during future mission selections.