Editing Saturn (section)

=== Physical features ===
The rings are found between {{convert|6630|km|mi|0|lk=off|abbr=on}} to {{convert|120700|km|mi|0|lk=off|abbr=on}} above the planet's equator. The [[circumference]] of Saturn at its [[equator]] is 378,675 km (235,298 miles). As found by Maxwell, even though the rings look solid and unbroken when viewed from above, the rings are made of small particles of rock and ice. The particles are only about {{convert|10|m|ft|0|lk=off|abbr=on}} thick; made of [[silicon dioxide|silica]] rock, [[iron oxide]] and ice particles.<ref name=cosmos />{{rp|55}} The smallest particles are only specks of dust, while the largest are the size of a house. The C and D rings also seem to have a "wave" in them, like waves in water.<ref name=cosmos />{{rp|58}} These large waves are {{convert|500|m|ft|0|lk=off|abbr=on}} high, but they move slowly, at about {{convert|250|m|ft|0|lk=off|abbr=on}} each day on Saturn.<ref name=cosmos />{{rp|58}} Some scientists believe that the waves are caused by Saturn's moons.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Saturn&Display=Rings |title=Saturn: Rings |work=Solar System exploration| publisher=National Aeronautics and Space Administration |date=March 22, 2011 |access-date=June 19, 2011}}</ref> Another idea is the waves were made by a [[comet]] hitting Saturn.<ref name=cosmos />{{rp|60}}

The largest gaps in the rings are the Cassini Division and the [[Rings of Saturn|Encke Division]] which are both visible from Earth. The Cassini Division is the largest of Saturn's ring gaps at {{convert|4800|km|mi|0|lk=off|abbr=on}} wide.<ref name="Cassini_Division">{{cite web |url=http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/solar_system_level2/cassini_division.html |title=StarChild: Saturn's Cassini Division |work=The Solar System| publisher= National Aeronautics and Space Administration |year=2011 |access-date=June 19, 2011}}</ref> When the [[Voyager program|Voyager]] spacecrafts visited Saturn in 1980, they discovered that the rings are in a complex structure made out of thousands of thin gaps and smaller rings. Scientists believe this is caused by the [[gravity|gravitational force]] of some of Saturn's moons. The tiny moon [[Pan (moon)|Pan]] orbits inside Saturn's rings, creating a gap within the rings. Other ringlets keep their structure due to the gravity of [[shepherd satellite]]s, such as [[Prometheus (moon)|Prometheus]] and [[Pandora (moon)|Pandora]]. Other gaps form due to the gravity of a large moon farther away. The moon [[Mimas (moon)|Mimas]] is what made the Cassini Division.<ref name="Cassini_Division" />

[[Data]] from the Cassini spacecraft has shown that the rings have their own [[atmosphere]], free from the planet's atmosphere. The rings' atmospheres have oxygen and hydrogen gas. The oxygen gas is made when the Sun's [[ultraviolet]] light breaks up the water ice in the rings. [[Chemical reaction|Chemical reactions]] also occur between the ultraviolet light and the water [[molecule]]s, creating hydrogen gas. The oxygen and hydrogen atmospheres around the rings are very widely spaced.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4640641.stm |title=Saturn rings have own atmosphere |first=Paul |last=Rincon |work=[[BBC News]] |date=July 1, 2005 |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=London |access-date=June 19, 2011}}</ref> As well as oxygen and hydrogen gas, the rings have a thin atmosphere made of [[hydroxide]] (a combination of oxygen and hydrogen), which was discovered by the [[Hubble Space Telescope]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2006ApJ...644L.137J&amp;db_key=AST&amp;data_type=HTML&amp;format=&amp;high=42bf06f4d906731%20The%20Enceladus%20and%20OH%20Tori%20at%20Saturn |title=The Enceladus and OH Tori at Saturn |first= R.E.|last=Johnson |journal=SAO/NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service |year=2006 |volume=644 |issue=2 |pages=L137–L139 |doi=10.1086/505750 |bibcode=2006ApJ...644L.137J |s2cid=37698445 |access-date=June 19, 2011}}</ref>