Joel Kontinen
New data gathered by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft suggest Saturn’s rings might be “100 million years” old.
This would mean that for the first “4,5 billion years” Saturn had no rings.
Previous research has suggested that Saturn might be “2 billion years” younger than the solar system and that the rings may be younger than dinosaurs.
Several planets, such as Mercury and Venus, Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa, Saturn’s moons Titan, Mimas and Enceladus, as well as Pluto also look too young for a “4.6 billion-year-old” solar system.
Source:
Amos, Jonathan. 2017. Cassini hints at young age for Saturn's rings. BBC news (30 August).
Posts
