SATURN’S RINGS ARE

DISAPPEARING

Saturn is losing its rings at an alarming rate and they may only exist for a brief 100 million more years, Nasa says.

Saturn’s rings are mostly made up of ice, caught in a celestial tug-ofwar between the planet’s gravity, pulling the chunks in, and its velocity, throwing them out into space. The planet’s magnetic field is what keeps them centred.

However, the rings are in danger. According to a study, the rings are being destroyed at the maximum speed of estimates determined decades ago. “Ring Rain” is a process that drains the ice from the rings of Saturn. The rate at which the rings are being destroyed means ring rain alone could obliterate the bars in 292 million years. However, if you combine that with the rate at which chunks from the ring are falling onto the surface of Saturn, there is only 100 million years left. As the planet rotates around the sun, different parts of the rings are exposed to the sun’s rays. The rays charge the chunks in the ring, which changes how they respond to the planet’s magnetic field.