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Saturn's icy rings likely formed from lost moon Chrysalis

phys.org·Laurence Tognetti·21 days ago
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Artist's illustration of how Saturn's rings might have formed from an ancient moon being ripped apart when it orbited too close. Credit: B. Militzer and NASA You're a long-necked Titanosaur grazing the plains and chomping away on tree leaves about 100 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous in what would eventually become a future Starbucks location. You look up at the night sky and notice a bright dot that seems slightly larger and brighter than usual since you've seen it a bunch. You grunt at your cousin (official dinosaur language) asking if he notices it, too. Your cousin grunts back that it does seem bigger and brighter and wonders what's up. These Titanosaur cousins might be about 100 million years too early for a good science class, but what they see in this piece of fiction is Saturn after it gets its rings. This is because scientists estimate the famed ringed planet got its most striking feature approximately 100 million years ago.…

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