The Eye of GEO: Saturn’s rings are disappearing in a very worrying way

What if Saturn lost its rings and became a planet like any other? This hypothesis is at the heart of a study unveiled by the American Space Agency (Nasa). Based on observations made by the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes during their respective flybys of the planet in 1980 and 1981.

Based on data collected during these two missions, which are more than 40 years old, the researchers were able to determine a dusty shower of particles. It would emanate directly from Saturn’s rings under the effect of the star’s magnetic field. According to the study published in Icarus, the “rain of rings” drains a quantity of aqueous products sufficient to fill an Olympic swimming pool in just half an hour.

Saturn would have acquired its rings after its creation

“For this alone, the entire ring system will have disappeared in 300 million years, but if we add to this the material of the rings measured by the Cassini probe and detected falling into Saturn’s equator, the rings have less than 100 million years to live. This is relatively little, compared to the age of Saturn, which is more than 4 billion years.”says the study’s lead author, James O’Donoghue.

For a long time, scientists have wondered whether Saturn had its rings since its creation, or whether the planet acquired them later. It would seem that the research leans in favor of the formation of the rings a posteriori.

An observation during a complete orbit around the Sun

“We are lucky to be there to see Saturn’s ring system, which appears to be in the middle of its life. However, if the rings are temporary, perhaps we missed seeing the ring systems giants of Jupiter,Uranus and of Neptunewhich only have thin rings today”continues the researcher at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Now, scientists hope to continue examining Saturn’s rings. They wish to check the evolution of this degradation throughout the planet’s orbit around the Sun, which lasts 29.4 years. It will then be possible to know how the Sun’s UV rays disrupt the ice grains that make up the rings. All to know the impact on the amount of rain from the rings.