A new study that includes some researchers from the University of Rochester details a planet with rings that makes Saturn's rings look tiny by comparison.
Astronomers at the Leiden Observatory in The Netherlands and the U of R have discovered that the ring system they see near a Sun-like star called "J1407" is of enormous proportions.
The ring system is the first of its kind to be found outside our solar system, and it was discovered in 2012 by a team led by Rochester's Eric Mamajek.
A new analysis of the data shows that the ring system consists of over 30 rings, which are more than 74 million miles in diameter.
“This planet is much larger than Jupiter or Saturn, and its ring system is roughly 200 times larger than Saturn’s rings are today,” said co-author Mamajek, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Rochester. “You could think of it as kind of a super Saturn.”
