Gravity wells and ring systems...

[pharoah0110]

I watched an intriguing documentary tonight about the theory of gravity, and an interesting thought occurred to me.
We've all seen the visualization of the gravity well formed by a planet; a grid which dips below it, forming a curve.
I got to wondering, what about a planet with an extensive ring system, like Saturn? Do the rings change the "shape" of the gravity well, or are they not massive enough of themselves to make a difference?
Let me clarify the question. If we could visualize the gravity well formed by Saturn (with it's ring system), and then suddenly remove the rings, would the gravity well look different?
If an extensive ring system affects the gravity well of a planet, does Orbiter model this?

Just wondering. Any thoughts welcome.
Cheers!

 

[tblaxland]

The rings have less combined mass in them than all but the smallest of Saturn's moons so they do not really have much of a gravitational effect on the dynamics of any large objects in the Saturn system (including spacecraft). They have some effect on very small objects (dust, small rocks).

Orbiter does not model any gravitational effects from the rings.