The rings of Saturn could disappear

– News of December 23, 2018 –

The rings of Saturn are superb but we are more and more certain that they are only temporary. They could have disappeared in a few hundred million years. A new study published December 17, 2018 describes how the inner part of the rings could slowly crumble under the effect of gravity and the magnetic field of the gas giant.

The grains of ice and dust that form the ring are normally stable, between the attraction of the planet and their own orbital velocity. They can, however, be ionized by solar winds or micro-meteorite impacts. The balance of forces then changes completely once the rings are ionized. The effects of the huge magnetosphere of the planet are important.

The grains of ice and dust are precipitated into the atmosphere of the planet along the lines of this magnetic field. This gives rise to a kind of rain of rings. The ice particles from the ring then interact with the atmosphere of Saturn. These interactions are at the origin of a surplus of ions and it is this surplus that has been observed by a team of astronomers.

This observation seems to show that Saturn eats slowly but regularly its rings. That would mean that they will not survive long. It may also be a sign that the rings of Saturn have formed quite recently. We can therefore consider that we are lucky to be able to see them.