The rings of Saturn turned out to be as old as the planet itself – Science and IT
Their age reaches 4-4.5 billion years – this is the same time as the planet itself.
New research has shown that Saturn's rings have existed not for hundreds of millions of years, but for several billions.
This was reported by the publication Space.
Previously, scientists believed that the age of the rings is 100-400 million years. This assumption was based on the observations of the Cassini spacecraft, which in 2004 recorded the purity of the ice fragments that make up the rings. It was assumed that in billions of years the impact of micrometeorites should have contaminated the ice with dust.
New research explains this mystery: when micrometeorites collide with ice blocks at a speed of more than 100,000 km/h, evaporation, formation of gaseous substances and condensation of microparticles occur. Most of them leave a ring system, which allows them to remain clean.
When Saturn was formed…
