NASA points out that the origin of the rings of Saturn is still a mystery

News24xx.com - Saturn, with its spectacular rings consisting of ice and rocks, when seen from afar looks beautifully amazing.

Over the years, we’ve seen the massive ringed planet in several unique avatars, each image showing us Saturn's different facets. However, the most recent one captured by the trusty Hubble telescope surely makes it one of the best pictures of Saturn ever captured. 

The image was shared by NASA that showcases the planet Saturn during its ongoing summertime after 30 years. Yes, just like Earth, Saturn too has various seasons, depending on how close or far it is orbiting from the Sun.

Read more: Early Mars Was Covered in Ice Sheets, Not Flowing Rivers

However, the frequency at which seasons change on Saturn is far lesser than Earth’s. The time Saturn takes to make one round, Earth has already done 30. This is because Earth is closer to the Sun, ten times closer than Saturn, so Earth has more gravitational pull towards the Sun overall.

The image showcases the planet in all of its awesomeness. NASA researchers state subtle differences in Saturn’s surface from earlier observations including a reddish haze in the northern hemisphere, probably due to the summer heat and harsh sunlight causing either change in the atmospheric circulation or perhaps remove ices from aerosols in the atmosphere.

The image also showcases Saturn’s icy moons are clearly visible in this exposure: Mimas at right, and Enceladus at the bottom.

"It's amazing that even over a few years, we're seeing seasonal changes on Saturn," said lead investigator Amy Simon of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

NASA also points out that the origin of the rings of the majestic planet is still a mystery.

It states, “Conventional wisdom is that they are as old as the planet, over 4 billion years. But because the rings are so bright – like freshly fallen snow – a competing theory is that they may have formed during the age of the dinosaurs. Many astronomers agree that there is no satisfactory theory that explains how rings could have formed within just the past few hundred million years.”