Rings of Uranus Rings of Uranus The rings of Uranus are a system of rings around the planet Uranus, intermediate in complexity between the more extensive set around Saturn and the simpler systems around Jupiter and Neptune. The rings of Uranus were discovered on March 10, 1977, by James L. Elliot, Edward W. Dunham, and Jessica Mink. William Herschel had also reported observing rings in 1789; modern astronomers are divided on whether he could have seen them, as they are very dark and faint. By 1978, nine distinct rings were identified. Two additional rings were discovered in 1986 in images taken by the
Rings of Saturn G ring. Voyager 2's closest approach occurred in August 1981 at a distance of 41,000 km. Voyager 2's working photopolarimeter allowed it to observe the ring system at higher resolution than Voyager 1, and to thereby discover many previously unseen ringlets. "Cassini" spacecraft entered into orbit around Saturn in July 2004. "Cassini" images of the rings are the most detailed to-date, and are responsible for the discovery of yet more ringlets. The rings are named alphabetically in the order they were discovered. The main rings are, working outward from the planet, C, B and A, with the Cassini Division, the