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Did a Titanic Moon Crash Create Saturn's Iconic Rings?
Simulations suggest a collision between proto-Hyperion and Titan 400 million years ago created debris forming most inner moons and Saturn's rings, explaining their young age.
3 Articles
3 Articles
An Ancient Merger Could Have Created Titan and the Debris Created Saturn's Rings
New research presents a timeline for recent (astronomically speaking) events in the Saturnian system. It shows that Titan collided with a proto-Hyperion, and the collision smoothed Titan's surface while some of the debris accreted onto a new Hyperion and also created Saturn's rings. The research can also explain some of the Saturnian system's other unusual characteristics.
The formation of Saturn's rings has fascinated astronomers for decades. Their fineness, their radiance and their apparent youth give rise to many questions. Indeed, their origin remains blurred and their composition still raises uncertainties. A new study makes an unexpected explanation. It links these structures to an old collision between two moons now gone. Thus, this scenario could solve several puzzles, notably the origin of Titan, that of …
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