How did planets get their rings?
We think that small moons, or maybe comets, get too close to the planet. Then its gravity tears them apart. The bits of rock and ice then go into orbit around the planet and make rings. Some people think that Earth may have rings at one time! The ringed planets are next to each other. Is there a reason for that? A very good question! I think that the planets that are closest to the sun, Mercury and Venus, don't have rings (or moons!) in part because the sun's gravity would pull them apart. Earth may have had rings in the past, but I think our moon's gravity would pull them apart. Mars might have had rings but the big planet Jupiter would probably pull them apart. The big outer planets — Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune — all are big enough to have strong gravity to hold onto their rings. Also they are further from the sun and from each other. Pluto has a big moon, Charon, that would probably pull apart rings. What are the colors of all the planets? This is a really good questi
