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Astronomy

The Formation and Stability of Saturn's Ring Arcs

Quick fact

Saturn's ring arcs are incomplete rings of debris, confined to narrow zones by the gravitational tug of tiny 'shepherd' moons, and they have persisted for millions of years despite being constantly disrupted by collisions.

Why this is interesting

You might picture Saturn's rings as gigantic, uniform hoops, but scattered among them are broken, partial rings—like necklaces missing most of their beads. What keeps these fragile-looking arcs from vanishing?