Earth Saturn-like rings space debris
por Terrymiller: ESA
A new report from the European Space Agency suggests that Earth might eventually develop rings similar to Saturn's, but they would be made of space debris rather than ice and rock. The latest Space Environment Report estimates that approximately 170 million pieces of space junk are currently orbiting our planet, endangering satellites and spacecraft. Debris located above 1,000 km could pose an even greater long-term risk.
Transcrição (en)
According to new research by the European Space Agency, 170 million pieces of space junk orbit around the Earth, and they are large enough to threaten spaceflights. Most of the space debris is located in the low-Earth orbit region, at altitudes between 200 kilometers and 1,000 kilometers. This debris orbits Earth at a speed of 15,700 miles per hour, and it may create huge damage to an active satellite or a spacecraft in case of a collision. The debris orbits below 600 kilometers, will fall back to Earth in the future, but debris above 1000 kilometers will continue to circle the Earth, and will create a ring-like structure in the future.
