Dale Wright, age 12, of Owensboro, Kentucky, or his question:

What are the rings of Saturn made of?

Seen through the telescope, Saturn is a splendid sight. The big golden planet is suspended inside a flat circle of shining rings. Of course, the golden glory is merely light reflected from the sun. For, being a planet, Saturn has no light of its own. Nor do its golden rings shine by their own light.

It has long been known that Saturn's rings are not solid. In fact, distant stars and the planet itself can be seen right through them. They are made of some gauzy material, most likely meteor dust and debris.

Actually there are three rings, A, B, and C, one inside the other. The inner ring C, is called the crepe ring and probably composed of rocks, boulders and flying gravel. Beyond it is a gap. Then comes ring B, which is the widest and brightest of the three. Ring B joins with the more filmy outer ring A. The two outer rings seem to be made of finer particles, probably of meteor dust. The thickness of the rings is less than 100 miles. The width of the great ring system, from side to side of the gleaming circle, is about 176,000 miles.

For further information go to: http://www.planetary.org/explore/topics/saturn/rings.html