Existence of Tiny Moonlets Indicate Origin of Saturn’s Rings

One of the most popular theories regarding Saturn’s rings states that they were formed from the debris of a shattered object – most likely an asteroid. Now, small propeller-like “footprints” in the rings lend credence to this view.

These “moonlets” are up to 100 meters in diameter. Matthew Tiscareno of Cornell University says, “The fact that objects of this size exist is intriguing. They are larger than what you’d expect if the rings had accreted from dust.” The fact that they do exist, and that may be as many as four million of them, challenges the competing theory which states that Saturn’s rings formed from ice and dust particles left over from the planet’s formation.

If indeed the rings are the result of an explosion, they may be quite young – perhaps no more than a few hundred million years old.
One of the most popular theories regarding Saturn’s rings states that they were formed from the debris of a shattered object – most likely an asteroid. Now, small propeller-like “footprints” in the rings lend credence to this view.

These “moonlets” are up to 100 meters in diameter. Matthew Tiscareno of Cornell University says, “The fact that objects of this size exist is intriguing. They are larger than what you’d expect if the rings had accreted from dust.” The fact that they do exist, and that may be as many as four million of them, challenges the competing theory which states that Saturn’s rings formed from ice and dust particles left over from the planet’s formation.

If indeed the rings are the result of an explosion, they may be quite young – perhaps no more than a few hundred million years old.