NASA Reveals that Saturn's Ancient Rings and Moons Date to the Birth of Our Solar System

Saturn's rings and moons may be some of the oldest objects in our solar system. A new analysis of data from NASA's Cassinni spacecraft reveals that both of these features of Saturn may date back to the time of our solar system's birth.

Saturn is one of the largest planets in our system, only second to Jupiter. While other planets have rings, though, the ones around Saturn are some of the most extraordinary. The largest ring to date spans up to 200 times the diameter of the planet.

"Studying the Saturnian system helps us understand the chemical and physical evolution of our entire solar system," said Gianrico Filacchione, one of the researchers, in a press release.

In order to further examine the planet, researchers used data from Cassini's visual and infrared mapping spectrometer (VIMS). The information showed how water ice and also colors, which are the signs of non-water and organic materials, are distributed throughout the Saturnian system. In particular, the data revealed how the vibrant coloring on the rings and moons was actually only skin-deep. The moons in particular were found to be redder in color the further away from Saturn they were. The rings also displayed a subtle reddish hue.

So what does this mean exactly? The red tint probably came from oxidized iron and could be due to a rain of meteoroids from outside the system. Since the coloring is only on the surface, the deeper core is probably far older. The scientists also noted that the moon Prometheus, which was far redder than the other moons, could have actually been created from material from Saturn's rings

In addition, the VIMS also detected abundant water ice--too much to have been deposited by comets or other recent means. The ice instead probably formed during the birth of the solar system since Saturn currently orbits the sun beyond the "snow line," which means that the environment is conducive to preserving water ice.

The findings reveal that Saturn's system is far older than once expected. They could give scientists insight into how our solar system first formed and could be applicable to other, similar planets in other galaxies.

"Observing the rings and moons with Cassini gives us an amazing bird's-eye view of the intricate processes at work in the Saturn system, and perhaps in the evolution of planetary systems as well," said Linda Spilker, one of the researchers, in a press release. "What an object looks like and how it evolves depends a lot on location, location, location."

The findings are published online in The Astrophysical Journal.