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Saturn’s rings were formed by either a moon being struck by a comet or asteroid or by a moon being torn apart by Saturn’s gravitational forces. Data from Cassini flybys suggests the rings are not as dense as previously thought and may have formed up to 100 million years ago. Cassini was able to definitively determine the density of the planet’s B ring using the Doppler effect. Galileo discovered Saturn’s rings 400 years ago.
Saturn acquired its glorious rings relatively late in life. Scientists think something struck one of the gas planet’s moons — a comet or asteroid, perhaps — sending chunks of rock and ice flying into orbit. Another theory is that the orbit of one of the planet’s many moons changed, and then that moon was torn apart by Saturn’s gravitational forces. However, however the rings have formed, data from Cassini flybys indicate they are not as dense as previously thought. Their low mass suggests that the rings may have formed up to 100 million years ago.
From Galileo to Cassini:
The Voyager mission in the 1980s suggested a similarly low mass, but researchers had doubted the result. Cassini was able to definitively determine the density of the planet’s B ring using the Doppler effect.
Cassini made 22 daring trips through the gap between Saturn and its rings before crashing into the planet in September 2017.
Galileo Galilei discovered Saturn’s extraordinary rings some 400 years ago, and scientists have been speculating about them ever since.
