I Why are Saturn's rings in its equatorial plane?

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Saturn's rings are primarily located in its equatorial plane due to gravitational effects related to the planet's rotation and tidal forces. The discussion highlights that as Saturn spins, it bulges at the equator, which enhances gravitational pull in that region, causing orbiting particles to align with the equatorial plane. This phenomenon is supported by basic orbital mechanics, where non-equatorial orbits experience oscillating gravitational forces that drive them towards the equatorial plane. Various hypotheses about the formation and maintenance of the rings are explored in a detailed paper, emphasizing the complexity of planetary astronomy. The consensus on the exact mechanisms remains elusive, with ongoing research contributing to the understanding of Saturn's ring system.
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What mechanism pulled small ice and stone particles preferentially into orbiting in the equatorial plane of Saturn? Is there a resonance involved? Wikipedia says that there is no consensus. What are some hypotheses?
What mechanism pulled small ice and stone particles preferentially into orbiting in the equatorial plane of Saturn? Is there a resonance involved? Wikipedia says that there is no consensus. What are some hypotheses?
 
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This article cover some theories about the formation of rings https://arxiv.org/abs/0912.3017

What mechanism that pulled objects in, gravity? Why in the equatorial plane? Isn't that just due to spinning objects tend to bulge out at the equator, which makes gravity stronger there so that every orbiting object will eventually end up orbiting that object around the equatorial plane due to tidal effects? This should be a well known and established theory.
 
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Yes, that alignment should follow from basic orbital mechanics. With a bulge and a non-equatorial orbit there is an oscillating gravitational force component perpendicular to the orbital plane that acts to change the orbital inclination towards the plane of the bulge.
 
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drmalawi said:
This article cover some theories about the formation of rings https://arxiv.org/abs/0912.3017

What mechanism that pulled objects in, gravity? Why in the equatorial plane? Isn't that just due to spinning objects tend to bulge out at the equator, which makes gravity stronger there so that every orbiting object will eventually end up orbiting that object around the equatorial plane due to tidal effects? This should be a well known and established theory.
This article cover some theories about the formation of rings https://arxiv.org/abs/0912.3017
This very detailed paper, of 76 pages, discusses different mechanisms for the creation and maintenance of Saturn's many rings. It is amazing how complex planetary astronomy can be. Thanks for referring me to this paper.
 
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