Does Pluto Have Any Rings?
There are no known rings around the dwarf planet Pluto.
Hubble Discovery of Pluto Moon
The Hubble Space Telescope was recently tasked with searching for rings around Pluto, and it did not discover any. However, the search resulted in some interesting finds, including the fourth moon of Pluto: P4.
Nature of Planetary Rings
Planetary rings are generally formed when smaller bodies impact large bodies and are destroyed, sending up showers of rocky debris out of the atmosphere and in orbit around the planet.
Implications of Pluto’s Moons
The recent discovery of small moons around Pluto, which may be from impact debris, has led to further investigation of whether or not there are rings around Pluto. However, at this point, no rings have been discovered.
The New Horizons Probe to Pluto
NASA launched the New Horizons probe to fly by Pluto in 2015. While searching for potential hazards for the probe, NASA discovered yet another moon of Pluto. There are now five known objects in and around Pluto, with New Horizons screaming out toward Pluto, promising to find more.
The Distance to Pluto Makes Research Difficult
The number of moons and objects around Pluto indicates that faint rings may exist around the planet. Still, because of Pluto’s vast distance from the Earth, they are impossible to detect from earth or space-based telescopes and await discovery upon arrival of New Horizons.
