Die Saturnringe und der größte Mond könnten nach einer kosmischen Kollision entstanden sein, sagen Astronomen

Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is one of the solar system’s oddities. Now, researchers have unlocked key insights about this mysterious moon, including how it came to be. The answer may also shed light on the origin of Saturn’s beautiful rings.

Shrouded in a thick haze, Titan is about half the size of Earth and even larger than Mercury — so massive that its gravitational pull makes Saturn wobble and tilt. Titan is also moving away from Saturn at a rate of 11 centimeters (4.3 inches) a year, far faster than astronomers [previously thought](https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/jpl/saturns-moon-titan-drifting-away-faster-than-previously-thought/). Eventually, the moon could be [ejected](https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.05550) from its orbit entirely.

But Titan’s drifting orbit is just one of [many puzzles](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/10-things-unsolved-mysteries-of-saturns-moons/) that astronomers are trying to solve about Saturn and some of its [274 moons](https://science.nasa.gov/saturn/moons/). Many of the questions have arisen from data collected by [Cassini](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/cassini/about-the-mission/), a spacecraft that explored the Saturnian system from 2004 to 2017.