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A big reason for Saturn’s beauty are its rings. But nobody knows how they were formed. Scientists have now found a possible explanation.
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Saturn was believed to be having 82 moons. But a new moon, Chrysalis, has been found now which is thought to be the reason for Saturn’s rings.
Past researches have confirmed that Saturn’s rings are much younger than the planet itself. They are around 100 million years old.
Scientists believe that around 160 million years ago this moon became unstable and it’s path came too close to Saturn.
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Due to this, Chrysalis went through something called as “grazing encounter” by researchers which led to it getting smashed apart.
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A large part of its mass and particles were accommodated by Saturn but some percentage of the material combined to form rings around the gas-giant.
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To unravel the mystery of Saturn’s rings, scientists have carried out many missions like NASA’s Cassini. This revelation may be a major breakthrough in the whole story.
Image Credit: newscientist.com