How did Saturn get its rings?
(Lansing State Journal, January 21, 1998)


 
Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system.  The rings around it make it very unique.  Some of these rings can be seen with a telescope.

Cassini discovered these rings with a telescope in 1675.  Saturn's rings make it one of the most beautiful objects in the solar system.  However, the origin of these rings is very unclear.  There are many of theories.  They may have formed from larger moons that were shattered by impacts of comets and meteoroids.  The composition is unknown, but they do show a considerable amount of water.  They could be composed of icebergs or snowballs.  The structure of these rings is believed to be from gravitational effects of satellites. A satellite is an object launched to orbit a celestial body (e.g. planets).

The U.S. has been studying Saturn and they continue to today. NASA  launched an orbiter called the Cassini spacecraft in late 1997.  It should reach Saturn in the year 2004 and begin studying it's moons and the surrounding atmosphere.

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