--- title: "Professor Says Earth Is Forming Saturn-Like Rings Made of Space Junk" description: "University of Utah's Jake Abbott predicts the Earth could soon look a lot like Saturn. \"Earth is on course to have its own rings\" made out of space junk." date: "2021-11-23" modified: "2021-11-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/earth-rings-space-junk" categories: - "Off-World" - "Space" tags: - "space debris" - "space junk" - "the digest" --- # Professor Says Earth Is Forming Saturn-Like Rings Made of Space Junk ![University of Utah's Jake Abbott predicts the Earth could soon look a lot like Saturn. "Earth is on course to have its own rings" made out of space junk.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Wretched Garbage Planet We've got a huge space junk problem — and it's only going to get worse as more and more companies and governments launch satellites, spacecraft, probes, and even [tourists]() into space. While much of what we send to orbit ends up getting sucked back into the Earth's atmosphere to burn up, much of it remains — until we figure out how to do something about it. Things could get so bad, University of Utah professor Jake Abbott predicts that the Earth could soon start looking a lot like Saturn. "Earth is on course to have its own rings," he [told *The Salt Lake Tribune*](). "They’ll just be made of junk." ## Tractor Beam According to the European Space Agency, there are an [estimated 170 million pieces]() of space debris larger than one millimeter across already in orbit. Roughly 670,000 of them are larger than about half an inch across. With companies like SpaceX launching their own massive constellations of broadband-beaming satellites, our planet's orbit is busier than ever. That means we are also at a greater risk of knock-on collision events that could result in even more, smaller pieces of space junk. Now, scientists are trying to figure out how to address the problem. Abbott believes one way to swoop up space junk could be using magnets. By spinning up a magnet at the end of a robotic arm to create special electrical currents called eddies, individual pieces of space junk could be controlled and slowed down, as described in a [recent article]() Abbot published in the journal *Nature*. "We’ve basically created the worlds first tractor beam," the researcher told *The Salt Lake Tribune*. "It’s just a question of engineering now. Building and launching it." **READ MORE:** [Space pollution may soon give Earth its own rings. Has Utah team found a solution in magnets?]() \[*The Salt Lake Tribune*\] **More on space junk:** *[Russia Says Actually It’s Fine That It Blew Up a Satellite, Filled Orbit With Deadly Space Junk]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()