The rings of Saturn – or any planet, really – have always evoked a kind of mystery.
Science tells us they’re likely just byproducts from way back when the planets were formed. In Saturn’s case, they may even be remnants of an ancient moon.
According to LiveScience, in 2011 astrophysicist Robin Canup proposed the hypothesis that, in the very early moments of our solar system, “one of Saturn’s large moons formed too close to the planet to maintain stable orbit.” Long story short, Saturn’s gravity shredded its icy layers and turned them into the nice rings we see today.
But, if you want the truth, we don’t really know their exact origin. This has led to some interesting alternative ideas.
A former NASA engineer, for example, has his own theory: Those rings were created by aliens.
More Specifically, Alien Spacecraft
Dr. Norman Bergrun once worked at NASA’s Ames Research Center, and his idea that Saturn’s rings are the result of alien ships orbiting the planet – ringmakers, he calls them – is not a recent one.
His book Ringmakers of Saturn, published in 1986, examined this idea in detail. It included photographs from Voyager 1’s 1980 flight to Saturn, one of which contained an anomaly (“the A-ring is incomplete”), which set Bergrun on his path toward explaining the rings’ possible extraterrestrial origin.
A video from earlier this month by conspiracy channel SecureTeam 10, however, brought Bergrun and his strange hypothesis back into the spotlight.
According to The Sun, Bergrun has claimed that giant alien spaceships are “proliferating in our solar system and around these ringed planets” – including Jupiter and Uranus. The rings, then, are formed by the crafts’ exhaust.
Why would aliens create these rings, though? That’s a question for another day, I suppose.
A Grand Finale Through Saturn’s Rings
Speaking of Saturn, NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is currently going through its “Grand Finale,” diving between the planet’s rings, leading up to its final hurrah in September.
“After losing contact with Earth, the spacecraft will burn up like a meteor, becoming part of the planet itself.” – NASA JPL
There’s still a lot to see before that happens, though. Will Cassini bump into any aliens on its way down?
