Did you know that Saturn's rings have an 'expiration date'?

Most people believe that Saturn's rings have existed since the planet was born. Many scientists believed in this theory as well. However, during the Cassini-Huygens mission, carried out in 2017, it was found that the rings appeared approximately in the period when dinosaurs inhabited the Earth. planet Earth.

Likewise, it is estimated that the rings will one day disappear. Explore the disappearance of Saturn's rings:

Disappearance of Saturn's rings

There is still no theory that is a consensus among the scientific community about the emergence of rings. Scientists believe that a moon orbiting Saturn was destroyed or "kicked" out of the system approximately 100 and 200 million years ago. Its residues – or rather, its detritus – that remained there made up the rings.

However, although they have been present for millions of years, it is estimated that they too will be gone in a few million years. Precisely, in 100 million.

This number may change, after all Saturn has an orbit of 29.4 years, and there is intense variation in the exposure of the rings to the Sun and ultraviolet light, which alters the planet's magnetic field. This can increase or decrease the "life" of the rings, although the variation is not very significant. However, do not worry: you will not witness this phenomenon.

Is it possible that there are other rings?

yes, the scientists do not rule out this possibility. Firstly, because other rings already exist on other planets – although they are not as significant as the Planet of the Rings. In this way, new frozen disks can appear and the cause can be, again, related to debris left by some celestial body.

What is the current composition of Saturn's rings?

Saturn's rings are made up of billions of particles and fragments of rock and ice, of different sizes and shapes. irregular and that were originated from asteroids, comets and moons destroyed by the gravitational force of this planet.