BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA — Scientists have used new measurements to calculate the mass of Saturn's rings to estimate their age, which is 10to 100 million years old, according to Berkeley News.
One of the last things the Cassini spacecraft did before plunging into Saturn's atmosphere in 2017 was to travel between the planet and its rings, acting as a gravity probe.
NASA programmed Cassini to perform 22 dives between the planet and the rings, with earth-based radio telescopes measuring the spacecraft's velocity to within a fraction of a millimeter per second.
Based on how much Cassini's flight path was deflected by the gravity of the rings, researchers were able to make an accurate estimate of Saturn ring mass.
Previous research has shown a relationship between the mass of the rings and their age. Lower mass would point to a younger age, because the rings are initially made of ice and are bright, but over time become contaminated and darkened by interplanetary debris.
With that estimate, scientist calculated that the rings are relatively recent, having originated between 100 million years to 10 million years ago.
