<p>Just a very general question, but I haven't seen this discussed elsewhere. If a moon gets busted up for some reason, say a collision with another moon, and is at the right orbital distance from its planet, how soon would you expect the debris cloud to be recognizable as a ring? I'm just looking for a ballpark answer: 10 thousand years, a million years, ten million, etc.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-19T17:55:13.820Z
Have you seen the questions about how long rings last?
James K
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-04-20T01:34:18.137Z
It's kind of the opposite question, but I looked at a couple. There was some discussion on the age of rings, but not specifically on when they form, especially when it happens after the formation of the planet itself.
Generality
<planet>
How quickly do planetary rings form?
Generality
# How quickly do planetary rings form?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-04-19)

Just a very general question, but I haven't seen this discussed elsewhere. If a moon gets busted up for some reason, say a collision with another moon, and is at the right orbital distance from its planet, how soon would you expect the debris cloud to be recognizable as a ring? I'm just looking for a ballpark answer: 10 thousand years, a million years, ten million, etc.

**Tags:** planet

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Have you seen the questions about how long rings last?  
> **username_0**: It's kind of the opposite question, but I looked at a couple. There was some discussion on the age of rings, but not specifically on when they form, especially when it happens after the formation of the planet itself.  

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