Saturn’s rings are surprisingly young and may be from shredded moons
Data from the Cassini spacecraft show that the gas giant didn’t always have its iconic icy bands
NEW ORLEANS — Saturn’s iconic rings are a recent addition. Final data from the Cassini spacecraft, which flew between the planet and the rings this year before plunging into the gas giant’s atmosphere, show the rings are around a few hundred million years old and less massive than previously thought.
Those findings suggest the rings are probably the remnants of at least one moon, rather than ancient remains of the stuff that formed the planet. The results were presented at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union on December 12 and 13.