Abstract
Observations of two stellar occultations by Neptune were used to search for possible equatorial and polar rings. No ring occultation events were identified, and an upper limit of 0.07 can be placed on the optical depth of any equatorial rings greater than 5 km wide with radii greater than 31,400 km. Any ring system of Neptune must be much less extensive than the ring systems of Uranus and Saturn, but a jovian-type ring of low optical depth would have escaped detection by our search.
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Elliot, J., Mink, D., Elias, J. et al. No evidence of rings around Neptune. Nature 294, 526–529 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/294526a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/294526a0
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