'Saturn loses its rings'

greenbelt - The planet Saturn has been known for its rings for centuries, but they are gradually disappearing. They will be gone in 300 million years, and maybe 100 million years already. 'That's free...

The rings consist of water ice, dust and stones. The gravity of Saturn attracts them, but at the same time they rotate at such a high speed that they escape it. That balance is sometimes disturbed. Then a part falls to Saturn. That is called rain. 'We estimate that every half hour an Olympic pool of water is extracted from the rings', say the researchers.