Scientists at a new idea that Saturn’s rings could be made up of a former moon!
Their new theory is that Saturn actually had no rings for most of its life – until a moon came too close to its atmosphere.
They think this happened around 160 million years ago. this is a small amount of time in Saturn’s 4.5-billion-year life!
This latest theory comes from the research by Nasa’s Cassini mission. A spaceship that was sent into space for 20 years to look at Saturn and its moons.
Saturn’s rings
Saturn’s rings are made up of dust, ice, and pieces of rock. Some parts are as tiny as specks, and some are as large as mountains!
They orbit around the planet the same way our Moon orbits Earth – because of its gravitational pull.
Whilst the moon’s orbit Saturn, the way they rotate means they don’t get pulled into the planet.
