Explained: Are Saturn's rings vanishing?

The rings around Saturn might soon be a thing of the past.

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They are disappearing.

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Saturn has seven main rings and they make up a gigantic and complex structure.

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These fragments are believed to be remnants of comets, asteroids, or moons shattered by Saturn's gravity.

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They are made of billions of small chunks of ice and rock coated with other materials such as dust.

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Interestingly, each ring orbits at a different speed around the planet.

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Scientists have known since the 1980s that Saturn’s innermost rings are eroding.

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The rings are falling on the planet as icy rain because of the planet’s intense gravity.

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Now the downpour is happening at such a high rate that an Olympic-sized swimming pool of water rains on the gas giant daily.

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Some astronomers say rings could disappear as quickly as 100 million years, or they might be around for 1.1 billion years.

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Others believe they will vanish in 300 million years.

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