Saturn's Rings | 20 Feb 2025

A study challenges the belief that Saturn’s rings are 100 million years old, suggesting they could be as old as the Solar System itself.

Earlier assumptions based on Cassini spacecraft data suggested Saturn’s rings were young due to their cleanliness, surprising scientists who expected dark dust from space debris.
- But the study finds dust evaporation keeps them clean, proving they may be ancient.
Cassini: Launched by National Aeronautics and Space Administration along with the European Space Agency's Huygens probe to study Saturn and its moons.
Saturn: It is the second-largest planet after Jupiter, and is composed of hydrogen and helium. Located at 9.5 Astronomical Unit (AU) (AU is the distance from the Sun to Earth) from the Sun.
- Saturn has 146 moons and is a gas giant of hydrogen and helium.
Saturn’s Rings: It consists of seven main rings, named in the order of their discovery (D, C, B, A, F, G, E), becoming fainter as they move outward, primarily made of icy snowballs.
- The main rings are A, B, and C, with the A ring easily visible through Earth-based telescopes. The Cassini Division separates the B and A rings.
- F Ring located outside the A ring, G and E Rings are much fainter, with the E ring being the largest ring.