Scientists were able to determine the age of Saturn’s rings

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Ученым удалось определить возраст колец СатурнаSaturn’s rings were formed about 200 million years ago.

This was stated by the astronomers, analyzing data provided by the spacecraft “Cassini” before completing his mission.

The rings were discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. They are flat formations of dust and ice. The wide ring has a diameter of 273 000 km and a thickness of about 1.5 kilometers. Scientists have put forward a number of hypotheses of the origin of the rings.

One of the scientific versions, the rings are particles of a celestial body, which passed close to Saturn and was torn apart by the impact of strong tidal forces. Another hypothesis States that Saturn’s rings originated from a vast circumplanetary cloud, which also formed the satellites of the planets.

Also different is the opinion of the specialists were on the question time appearance of the rings. According to popular belief, this happened about 4.5 billion years ago when formed and the planet itself. In defense of this version were data about the large mass of the material of the rings that could only accumulate for a very long time.

However, the Cassini data showed that this opinion was erroneous and the mass of the rings is 0.4 of the mass of the largest moon of Saturn – Mimas. This means that Saturn’s rings are much younger than the planet.

Also in favor of the “young” age of the rings is the analysis of the substance of the rings: it is a little polluted with the residues of meteorites.

Thus, the researchers came to the conclusion that Saturn’s rings were formed in the interval from 150 to 300 million years, the most likely age of 200 million years.

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