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Missing Moon Explains Saturn's Rings, Says New Science Theory

2022-09-16 18:00:06Lifestyle SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Missing Moon Explains Saturn's Rings, Says New Science Theory
Saturn

The rings and tilted axis make Saturn the most distinctive planet in the solar system. Scientists have a new theory about how gas planets could have developed these distinctive features.

An ancient, lost moon may be their genesis. Today, Saturn has 82 moons, and it is thought that the planet once had another one orbiting it for several million years. But about 160 million years ago, the moon collided with Saturn and shattered 99% of it.

That percentage was swallowed up by the gas giant, while the rest accreted into orbit, forming small icy chunks that coalesced into rings, the researchers suggest.

Previous research has estimated Saturn's rings to be 100 million years old, much younger than the planet itself, although their age is a hotly debated topic.

The new theory also sheds light on two other features. The planet's 26.7 degree tilt was previously thought to be due to gravitational interactions with Neptune, but the lost moon theory offers a new explanation.

At one time the two planets may have moved in sync, and the loss of a moon may have been enough to disconnect Saturn from Neptune's pull, causing it to tilt.

The same may have caused Saturn's moon Titan, the second largest in the solar system, to move 11 centimeters away from it every year.

The lost moon is named Chrysalis, like a butterfly's chrysalis, because of the way scientists think it changed the planet. They admit that the new theory may be a "good story" but needs to be tested and examined by other astronomers.


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