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Re: Planetary Ring Compositions?

>I was just wondering what the major composition of the rings surrounding
>the outer planets were and if these compositions match any meteorite
>types?

Saturn's rings consist of mainly water ice, and a small amount
of silicate material has been detected.  There hasn't been any
match to any meteorite type that I'm aware of.  Cassini will
be taking a close look at the rings of Saturn.  The smaller, fainter rings
of Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune contains more dust-like material.

This topic also reminds me of the spokes on Saturn's rings.  Voyager
observed these dark features on the rings, that moved about seeming
to defy gravity.  The latest theory on the spokes is that they
are shadows on the rings from small microscopic particles that are suspended 
above and below the rings.  These particles are trapped in Saturn's
magnetic field and rotate around the planet within this field.  The
particles were probably placed there when a small asteroid or comet
punched through the main ring, scattering ring particles about, and
and the smaller particles remained entrapped above or below the
main ring plane.

Ron Baalke