What is the name of the faint ring of Jupiter that lies between the main ring and the planet?

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The faint ring of Jupiter between the main ring and the planet is the halo ring.

The halo ring is the innermost major component of Jupiter’s ring system. Unlike Jupiter’s relatively bright main ring, it is a thick, diffuse torus made mostly of extremely fine dust particles and is difficult to see from Earth.

The ring system was first observed by Voyager 1 in 1979 and later studied in much greater detail by the Galileo orbiter. Dust in the halo probably comes largely from material ejected from the main ring’s parent moons, including Metis and Adrastea. Jupiter’s magnetic environment alters the orbits of tiny charged dust grains, helping spread the halo vertically.

The names can be confusing because “main ring” describes the bright ring outside the halo, while “gossamer rings” are farther out and associated with Amalthea and Thebe. The halo is also unusual in appearing relatively neutral or bluish rather than reddish like much of the main ring.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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