Saturn's rings are older than previously thought: new research suggests they could be 4.5 billion years old like the planet itself

A new study shows that Saturn's rings may be older than scientists had previously thought. Perhaps as old as the planet itself - 4.5 billion years old.

A group of scientists from Japan suggests that although Saturn's rings are older, they are well preserved for their advanced age. Their relative youth and lack of wear and tear is due to their resistance to pollution, AP reports.

Based on more than a decade of observations by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, scientists had previously believed that Saturn's rings were between 100 and 400 million years old. After all, the images taken by Cassini showed no signs of darkening of the rings due to the impact of micrometeoroids - space rock particles smaller than a grain of sand. This prompted scientists to conclude that these icy, shimmering circles were formed long before the planet.

In a new study using computer modeling, Ryuki Hyodo of the Tokyo Institute of Science and his team demonstrated that micrometeoroids vaporize as they crash into the rings, leaving little to no dark and dirty residue.

Scientists have found that the resulting charged particles are sucked into Saturn or blown out into space, keeping the rings intact and challenging the baby rings theory.

"Considering the solar system’s evolutionary history, it’s more likely that the rings formed closer to Saturn’s earliest times," Ryuki Hyodo said.

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