A University of Colorado at Boulder planetary scientist has developed a new model to explain the structure of an odd ring around Neptune resembling a string of beads that was discovered by NASA's Voyager 2 fly-by of Neptune in 1989. According to Larry Esposito of the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, the ring, known as the Adams ring, was formed when a comet collided with a tiny moon. The impact of the crash dispersed matter from the two bodies into a ring of particles orbiting Neptune.