Rings and moons - Clues to understanding the solar nebula

Planetary satellites, ranging in size from ring particles to the Galilean moons of Jupiter, constitute a small but diverse compmonent of the solar system. In some respects, the satellite systems of the giant planets can be thought of as miniature solar systems. The chemical and physical properties of these systems can yield clues to the conditions under which they may have formed, and thus can constrain models of the circumplanetary nebulae and the solar nebula. Planetary rings contain a great deal of structure, most strikingly displayed in Voyager spacecraft images. Understanding the causes of this structure can yield important insights into the dynamics of the protoplanetary disk. Taken together, rings and moons offer clues as to the nature of the processes which led to the formation of the planets themselves.