Saturn's rings are actually much older than scientists previously thought (photo).

The rings of Saturn did not form later than the dinosaurs on Earth, as previously thought, but are as ancient as the giant planet itself. Scientists have concluded that Saturn's rings have existed not for hundreds of millions of years, but for several billion years. This research has been published in the journal Nature Geoscience, reports Space.

The age of Saturn's rings has been a topic of debate for a long time. Some researchers believed they formed alongside the planet about 4.5 billion years ago from icy debris left over from the formation of the Solar System. Others argued that they are several hundred million years old and resulted from Saturn's gravity tearing apart its icy moon.

In 2004, the Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn and observed that the large ice chunks and small icy particles making up the planet's rings were free from dust from micrometeorite impacts. This was surprising, as it was expected that such impacts should have occurred over billions of years. The rings appeared bright and clear, as no dark dust was detected within them.

As a result, scientists initially estimated the age of Saturn's rings to be around 100-400 million years. For comparison, dinosaurs appeared on Earth about 230 million years ago. Now, however, researchers have determined that Saturn's rings are much older, and there is an explanation for why the ice within them has remained clean for billions of years.

When Saturn formed 4.5 billion years ago, the Solar System was a much more chaotic place for about 500 million years afterward. During this time, various rocky bodies were migrating, increasing the chances of collisions between them. Such a collision could have led to the creation of Saturn's rings, scientists believe.

The authors of the study developed a computer model that simulates the collision of micrometeorites with the ice chunks that make up Saturn's rings. The simulations showed that these collisions occur at speeds exceeding 100,000 km/h.

Researchers found that such collisions can create temperatures exceeding 9700 degrees Celsius, leading to the vaporization of micrometeorites. Afterward, the gaseous material expands, cools, and condenses within Saturn's magnetic field, resulting in the formation of microscopic particles.

Modeling indicated that these particles mainly either collide with Saturn or drift further into space, with only a tiny fraction contaminating the rings, allowing them to remain relatively clean. This means that the rings are not darkened by micrometeorite impacts.

Based on the collected data, scientists concluded that the actual age of Saturn's rings is between 4 to 4.5 billion years. These findings could be confirmed by future missions to Saturn.