The rings of Saturn are "battlefield dust". Two moons clashed there

The contemporary rings and numerous moons of Saturn may be the result of a cosmic collision. Simulations performed using a supercomputer suggest that moons collided in the planet's orbit.

The immediate vicinity of Saturn remains very mysterious. The Cassini probe, which studied its rings and moons, proved that they were formed relatively recently. However, it did not provide any clues about their genesis. Astrophysicists have decided to determine how they were formed, using a supercomputer.

The rings of Saturn resemble a disk created by harmoniously moving ice fragments. They are maintained by the planet's gravity, but do not exceed the so-called Roche's limit. This is the point at which the planet's gravitational pull becomes so strong that it even breaks larger rocks.

The outer edge of the rings is equally interesting. Material orbiting beyond it tends to clump together. This provides an opportunity for numerous icy moons of Saturn to form.

The problem is that all this cosmic junk is much younger than Saturn itself. The planet must have been equipped with rings and gained many moons as a result of some drastic event.

Scientists decided to investigate whether a collision could have occurred in the orbit of a powerful planet. The Advanced Computing (DiRAC) supercomputer, belonging to the British University of Durham, served them for the simulation of such a scenario. The machine confirmed that the effects of the collision of two icy moons correspond to the landscape around Saturn.

From hundreds of simulations of such a collision, it appears that the ice could have been dispersed to Roche's limit by the collision of two icy moons. All it took was for objects comparable to the moons Rhea and Dione, currently orbiting Saturn, to collide with each other.

Probably the matter also hit Saturn's other moons, causing a real cascade of events. Successive objects decayed, fueling the ring zone and creating entirely new satellite objects beyond its border.

The hypothetical origin of Saturn's rings and its moons requires further research, but it is exceptionally consistent. For example, it perfectly explains why there is a negligible amount of rocks in the area of Saturn's rings.

During the collision, the surface layer of the colliding objects, made of ice, was more prone to scattering. The rock cores of the moons also scattered, but to a much lesser extent.

The probable cause of the first collision is also suggested. According to scientists, Saturn's ancient moons collided with each other due to a sudden gravitational change from the Sun. This is possible and could have caused the orbits of the icy moons to extend and tilt, and their trajectories to be on a collision course.