The Long Goodbye to Saturn’s Rings
The planet’s defining feature is slowly disappearing.
Of all the planets in our solar system, Saturn might be the prettiest. Those rings! Strand after strand of icy material with just a hint of rock, arranged in a delicate halo. Up close, the rings gleam in soft pinks, grays, and browns, shimmering in the darkness. It’s hard to imagine Saturn without them.
But Saturn’s rings aren’t a permanent feature. In fact, they’re vanishing.
The rings are losing material every year. Incoming micrometeorites and the sun’s radiation disturb the small, dusty pieces of ring matter, electrifying them. The particles, suddenly transformed, become attuned to Saturn’s magnetic field lines and start spiraling along those invisible paths. When the particles get too close to the top
