Saturn rings are a majestic and unique feature in all of our solar system. However, it might soon be lost.
What are the Saturn rings? Why are they going to disappear?
The rings of Saturn are made of ice, rock, and dust. They are between 10 to 100 million in age. However, the planet may soon lose them since it is using them up. The planet is losing the rings due to ‘ring rain’. Ring rain is a phenomenon where the planet is attracting ring matter that is falling from the ring and vaporizing. Hence, in simpler words, Saturn is eating its rings.
Cassini, a NASA Mission has studied the planet extensively. “Those particles are slowly jostling and bumping into each other. There are wakes created by the tiny moon. When Cassini dived between Saturn and the rings, we could measure the amount of ring material flowing into the planet,” stated Linda Spilker. Spilker is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab. She extensively worked on the Cassini mission.
How long will it take?
Astronomers discovered the destructive process and they estimate around 10 tonnes of ring matter fall into Saturn every second. Hence, based on data, Saturn can’t lose its grandeur any time soon. Taking the current rate of degradation, it will take around 100 million years for the rings’ cores to disappear. Moreover, in 300 million years, they will be completely gone.
However, someday when Saturn no longer has the rings, the universe might decide to give it another set. “Maybe through some process—another moon is broken apart, a comet comes in too close—and you start it all over again. Maybe this isn’t the last we’ll see of rings around Saturn,” added Spilker.
