When the Voyager probe first flew past Saturn decades ago , they divulge that the material that make up the rings were raining down on the planet . The data from the probes were used to estimate a worst - character - scenario pace of destruction and new datum has confirmed that it is indeed happening at that pace . The ring might be completely gone within 100 million years .
As reported in the journalIcarus , dusty ice crystallization that make up the rings are being pulled in by the planet ’s gravity . Some of these ice lechatelierite are also being affected by Saturn ’s strong magnetic field . The electrically charge pieces from the rings are fall out the unseeable magnetic lines to fork out a large amount of water to the planet ’s higher latitudes .
" We calculate that this ' ring rain ' drain an amount of water products that could fill an Olympic - sized swimming pocket billiards " in half an hour , James O’Donoghue of NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center tell in astatement . " From this alone , the entire ring system will be gone in 300 million years , but bring to this the Cassini - spacecraft measure annulus - material detected fall into Saturn ’s equator , and the band have less than 100 million years to live . This is relatively short , compare to Saturn ’s years of over 4 billion years . "
Saturn ’s rings are mostly made of water ice pieces that can graze from boulder - sized to microscopic grains . Due to the legal action of ultraviolet ignitor from the Sun or blood plasma clouds produced by micrometeoroids strike the rings , these ice chunks get electrically charge and begin to palpate the activity of the magnetic field . At this point , the forces acting on them are unbalanced and the ice crystals fly into the satellite .
Recent study have debate that complex pack systems like the one that Saturn sport are transitory structures , at least in cosmic terms . Scientists call up that the annulus are unbelievable to be older than 100 million year , maybe formed from the hit between two wintry moons .
" We are lucky to be around to see Saturn ’s ring system , which seems to be in the middle of its lifetime . However , if rings are impermanent , perhaps we just missed out on seeing giant mob systems of Jupiter , Uranus and Neptune , which have only thin ringlets today ! " O’Donoghue added .
While the time to come of Saturn ’s doughnut are uncertain and we are not sure how they came to be , we can at least keep savor this wonder of nature at the peak of its glory .
