Fraser Cain on Nostr: Whether Saturn's Rings are Young or Old, its Moons are as Ancient as the Planet ...
Whether Saturn's Rings are Young or Old, its Moons are as Ancient as the Planet Itself
The age of Saturn's rings is an ongoing controversy among planetary scientists. They look young, but are they actually young or just being resurfaced by micrometeorite impacts? Scientists have asked a similar question about Saturn's icy moons, which could have formed with the planet or were captured icy objects from the outer solar system. A new study mapped impact craters on the surface of the moons and dated them back to nearly the beginning of the Solar System. No matter how young the rings are, Saturn's moons are old.
#saturn
http://arxiv.org/abs/2309.03861
The age of Saturn's rings is an ongoing controversy among planetary scientists. They look young, but are they actually young or just being resurfaced by micrometeorite impacts? Scientists have asked a similar question about Saturn's icy moons, which could have formed with the planet or were captured icy objects from the outer solar system. A new study mapped impact craters on the surface of the moons and dated them back to nearly the beginning of the Solar System. No matter how young the rings are, Saturn's moons are old.
#saturn
http://arxiv.org/abs/2309.03861