03. Does Saturn have real rings? What causes Saturn's rings? (A K2S Question)

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Yes, Saturn's rings are real. We don't know exactly how they formed, but we are fairly certain they arose from the complete break-up of an icy body, or several smaller icy bodies. This was either a moon of Saturn's that was broken by a collision with an incoming meteor, or a very large comet-like body from the outer solar system that got too close to Saturn and was torn apart and captured into orbit.


Answer provided by Carolyn Porco, Ph.D.


Image:K2S logosmall.jpg Question and Answer extracted from the book Kids to Space - by Lonnie Schorer