GREENBELT, MARYLAND — New NASA research confirms that Saturn is losing its rings at a rate which researchers describe as a "worst-case-scenario." <br /><br />Phys.org reports that using observations made by Voyager 1 and 2 decades ago, scientists say the rings are being pulled into Saturn by gravity as a dusty rain of ice particles under the influence of the planet's magnetic field. <br />According to James O'Donoghue of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, this 'ring rain' drains enough water every 30 minutes to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. <br />According to scientists' estimates, the rings could be completely gone in 100 million years. <br />Saturn's rings are mainly composed of chunks of water ice ranging in size from microscopic dust to boulders several yards in width. <br /><br />Ring particles have several forces acting upon them. Saturn's gravity want to draw the particles towards the planet, while their orbital velocity wants to shoot them out towards space. <br />The tiny particles can also get electrically charged from the Sun or from plasma clouds.<br />These charged particles can also feel the pull of Saturn's magnetic field, which curves inward toward the planet at Saturn's rings.
