Saturn's Rings Are Disappearing

Saturn's rings are not only younger than previously thought but are also disappearing rapidly. The rings, composed mainly of water ice, are being pulled into Saturn by gravity, reacting with its ionosphere. Observations using the Keck telescope and data from Voyager missions suggest the rings formed less than 100 million years ago and may vanish in 300 million years.

What is the primary composition of Saturn's rings?

• Molten lava

• Gaseous clouds

• Water ice

• Metallic rocks

How do the icy particles from Saturn's rings become charged?

• By colliding with other particles

• Through Saturn's gravitational pull

• Through plasma clouds from meteoroid strikes

• By absorbing sunlight

What instrument was used to observe the infrared emissions from Saturn's rings?

• Hubble Space Telescope

• Voyager 2

• Keck Telescope

• James Webb Space Telescope

Approximately how long ago did Saturn's rings form according to recent studies?

• 4 billion years ago

• 100 million years ago

• 500 million years ago

• 1 billion years ago

In how many years are Saturn's rings expected to completely disappear?

• 1 billion years

• 300 million years

• 500 million years

• 50 million years