Biggest mystery of Saturn’s iconic rings solved

In a new study, scientists examined the iconic rings of Saturn, the sixth planet farthest from the Sun. Trying to arrive at a new age estimate for Saturn’s ring system, the researchers tried to determine how long it took for this layer of dust and icy rock to accumulate. Although the results were extremely surprising, the question of when these rings were formed has finally been answered.

Crucial discovery for Saturn’s mysterious rings

Analyzing the data, scientists determined that the Solar system’s most impressive and famous ring system is no more than 400 million years old. Compared to the age of Saturn, which was born together with other planets with the collapse of the gas and dust cloud around the Sun about 4.5 billion years ago, we can say that these rings were formed only yesterday, so to speak. According to this information, the formation of Saturn’s rings was probably shaped 240 million years ago when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

On the other hand, conducting this research was not easy. University of Boulder physicist Sascha Kempf and her team analyzed 13 years of data collected by NASA’s now retired Cassini spacecraft. Before plunging into Saturn’s atmosphere, Cassini had collected 163 dust particles from around Saturn.

The rings will soon disappear

“Think of the rings like the carpet in your house. If you’ve laid a clean carpet, you just have to wait. The dust will settle on your carpet. The same goes for the rings,” Kempf said in a statement. Using measurements of dust accumulation in Saturn’s rings, the researchers estimated that the structures accumulate less than one gram per square meter of this material each year.

This showed them that, compared to the planet, Saturn’s rings are a relatively new phenomenon and could indeed disappear in the equivalent of a blink of an eye, at least in cosmic terms. The rings are being pulled into the planet by the gravitational pull of the gas giant, but astronomers aren’t exactly sure how long the rings have. It is estimated that the rings will disappear in 15 to 400 million years.

Saturn’s rings are a fairly “new” feature

Saturn’s rings have fascinated scientists since they were discovered in 1610 by astronomer Galileo Galilei. This interest was intensified in the 1800s when it was discovered that the rings were not actually solid, but made up of smaller particles.

Scientists now know that there are seven rings surrounding Saturn, extending some 282,000 kilometers from the gas giant’s surface. The rings are made up of chunks of ice of various sizes, most of them no larger than a piece of Earth’s rock.

When the rings were born was a great mystery. One of the prevailing theories in the twentieth century was that the rings were formed when Saturn itself was born. Kempf added that this idea is problematic because Saturn’s rings are extremely “clean” and made up of 98 percent water ice. “It’s nearly impossible to come across something this clean,” Kempf said.