Saturn, a gas giant, is known for its iconic, massive rings.One question scientists have been pondering about is how old they are.
Scientists previously thought they were 400 million years old, but
BBC said that, in a new study, Japanese scientists found that Saturn’s rings are billions of years old.
BBC says – “They used computer modelling to look at when they might have first formed and found that it could actually have happened 4.5 billion years ago – at the same time as the planet formed.”
BBC said that the reason behind why Saturn’s rings are in great condition is because of the rings’ resistance to pollution and not because the rings are so young.
Scientists think they are made up of asteroids, and destroyed moons broken by Saturn’s gravity. They are also made of many small chunks of ice and rock coated with dust and many other things.
BBC said that the Japanese scientists used computer modelling, which is the process of constructing and using computer-based math, graphs or algorithms to represent real life systems or phenomenons, for the purpose of doing simulations to study, or predict the behaviour of the system.
The discovery that Saturn’s rings might be much older than previously thought reshapes our understanding of their formation. If confirmed, it could provide more knowledge about planetary ring evolution and the early solar system.
Saturn, a gas giant, is known for its iconic, massive rings. One question scientists have been pondering about is how old they are.
Scientists previously thought they were 400 million years old, but
BBC said that, in a new study, Japanese scientists found that Saturn’s rings are billions of years old.
BBC conveyed that scienticists “T used computer modelling to look at when they might have first formed and found that it could actually have happened 4.5 billion years ago – at the same time as the planet formed.”
BBC said that the reason behind why Saturn’s rings are in great condition is because of the rings’ resistance to pollution and not because the rings are so young.
Scientists think they are made up of asteroids and destroyed moons broken by Saturn’s gravity. They are also made of many small chunks of ice and rock coated with dust and many other things.
BBC said that the Japanese scientists used computer modelling, which is the process of constructing and using computer-based math, graphs, or algorithms to represent real-life systems or phenomenons for the purpose of doing simulations to study or predict the system’s behaviour.
The discovery that Saturn’s rings might be much older than previously thought reshapes our understanding of their formation. If confirmed, it could provide more knowledge about planetary ring evolution and the early solar system.