Saturn has always been known for its surrounding rings, which are a distinctive sight in our solar system, but it seems that these rings may fade away.
Researchers said that Saturn’s rings are falling on the planet like icy rain, noting that this is happening because of the intense gravity of this planet.
The rings of Saturn are the most extended system of planetary rings compared to any other body in the solar system to which the Earth belongs, and they consist of countless small particles, cosmic dust and others, whose sizes range from micrometers to meters, and they revolve around the planet.
And the American “Fox News” network quoted a statement from the University of “Reading” in Britain, that Dr. James O’Donoghue of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency will track Saturn’s rings.
In his mission, O’Donoghue will rely on some of the most powerful telescopes in the world, including the James Webb telescope and the Keck telescope.
“We are still trying to figure out exactly how fast it is eroding,” O’Donoghue said. Currently, research indicates that these rings will be part of Saturn for another few hundred million years.
He added: «This may sound like a long time, but in the history of the universe this is a relatively quick death. We might be very lucky to be here at a time when the rings were there.”
