According
to new research released by scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland, Saturn is losing its iconic rings at the
maximum rate predicted through data acquired by the Voyager 1 and 2
spacecraft.
Under this model, the rings are expected to
last less than 100 million years. This is a significant reduction
compared to the original estimated life span of 300 million years as
calculated using data from the Cassini spacecraft. In comparison, this
is minuscule considering Saturn's age is over 4 billion years.
According
to the research, the rings are being pulled into Saturn by gravity as a
dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of Saturn's magnetic
field. Caught between the pull of the planet's gravity and their orbital
velocity wishing to fling them out into space, these particles are
easily susceptible to other forces. Sometimes these particles become
electrically charged by UV light from the Sun or by plasma clouds from
micrometeoroid bombardment within the ring systems. This allows the
planet's magnetic field to pull them towards the planet.
A
longstanding mystery is whether Saturn formed with rings or if the
planet acquired them later in its life. This new research would suggest
the latter scenario, suggesting that these rings are no older than 100
million years.
“We are lucky to be around to see Saturn’s ring system, which appears
to be in the middle of its lifetime," said James O'Donoghue from NASA Goddard. However, if rings are temporary,
perhaps we just missed out on seeing giant ring systems of Jupiter,
Uranus and Neptune, which have only thin ringlets today!”
Read the full press release at: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2018/ring-rain
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