Saturn's Rings Being Pulled Inward by Planet's Gravity.

Saturn's iconic rings are disappearing, and the rate at which they are shrinking is still uncertain. To better estimate the lifetime of the rings, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory in Hawaii will be part of a long-term observation campaign to study the planet. The telescopes will help monitor how the "ring rain" phenomenon fluctuates during one full season on the gas giant, which lasts about seven Earth-years thanks to its orbit far away from the sun. The new research will help with forecasting the fate of the rings, and astronomers hope to narrow down the range of how much ring material is raining onto the planet.