This Ancient Moon Could Answer Two Cosmic Mysteries According To Scientists

Scientists have long hypothesized what might happen if a moon where to suddenly fall out of orbit and crash down to the surface of its planet. Generally speaking, there are two distinct schools of thought in this regard. On one hand, a small celestial body would likely be shredded in the atmosphere of the much larger planet, resulting in tiny particles that would eventually swirl around the planet in and fall into stable orbit, forming rings in the process (via Business Insider). On the other hand, if the moon were large enough, it would make impact with the planet surface and set off what would likely be a chain reaction of seismic activity. Business Insider notes that in the event of this moon collision, both outcomes likely occurred. Data from the Cassini satellite which orbited Saturn for 13 years has been used to explore both of these mysteries, resulting in a finding that another, ancient moon is the culprit.

The researchers named this moon Chrysalis, in poetic fashion. The team noted that the Saturn we see today is a sort of evolved form that would not have been present in the night sky had humans looked up at it almost 200 million years ago. In the same way the caterpillar forms a chrysalis and emerges as a new and unrecognizable being, this moon transformed the surface, orbit, and surrounding environment of Saturn.