New York: Researchers using data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft have found that Saturn's rings formed around 4.4 billion years ago, shortly after the planet itself took shape.
The origin of Saturn's ring system remains hotly debated, with some researchers arguing that it's a relatively young structure and others holding that it coalesced long ago, at roughly the same time as the gas giant's many satellites.
The new study, using data gathered by NASA's Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft, strongly supports the latter scenario, researchers said.
Cassini's measurements suggest that "the main rings would be [extremely] old, rather than hundreds of millions of years old," said Sascha Kempf, of the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Saturn's main ring system is huge but razor-thin, measuring about 280,000 kilometres across but just 33 feet or so in the vertical direction.
The rings are composed primarily of water ice, but they contain small amounts of rocky material contributed by micrometeoroid bombardment, 'LiveScience' reported.
Kempf and his colleagues used Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyzer instrument to measure just how frequently such tiny particles cruise through the Saturn system.
They found that a surprisingly small amount of dusty material comes into contact with the rings.
After measuring the low rate of dust recruitment, the team calculated that the rings have likely existed for about 4.4 billion years.
"It would be consistent with an old ring system," Kempf said.
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The origin of Saturn's ring system remains hotly debated, with some researchers arguing that it's a relatively young structure and others holding that it coalesced long ago, at roughly the same time as the gas giant's many satellites.
The new study, using data gathered by NASA's Saturn-orbiting Cassini spacecraft, strongly supports the latter scenario, researchers said.
Saturn's main ring system is huge but razor-thin, measuring about 280,000 kilometres across but just 33 feet or so in the vertical direction.
Advertisement
Kempf and his colleagues used Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyzer instrument to measure just how frequently such tiny particles cruise through the Saturn system.
Advertisement
After measuring the low rate of dust recruitment, the team calculated that the rings have likely existed for about 4.4 billion years.
Advertisement
The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Why Food In Space Falls Flat - The Surprising Connection To Gravity Watch: Sun Unleashes Powerful Solar Flare, Disrupts Radio Signals In Australia, Japan 220-Foot NF 2024 Asteroid Racing Towards Earth, NASA Alerts World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Why BJP Lost Lok Sabha Polls In Uttar Pradesh - 6 Reasons In Party Report "Re-Exam Only On Concrete Footing": Supreme Court On NEET-UG Row "Avoid Travel": India Issues Advisory For Nationals In Bangladesh Amid Unrest 'Dark Comets' May Pose Bigger Threat Than Previously Thought To Earth "NEET-UG Re-Test Only If Sanctity Lost On Large Scale": Supreme Court Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.