A new study has found that Earth could eventually have its own Saturn-like rings made of space junk. According to NASA, there are roughly 100 million pieces of space junk larger than a millimeter orbiting the Earth. Much of this debris comes from discontinued or damaged satellites. Larger chunks of space debris can travel at speeds of 17,500 miles per hour. This poses a serious threat to space travel and research. Between 200 and 400 pieces of space debris fall back to Earth each year. Most of the objects disintegrate upon reentry. Researchers from the University of Utah suggest that magnets could be used to remove debris from the Earth’s orbit. We’ve basically created the world’s first tractor beam. It’s just a question of engineering now. Building and launching it, Jake Abbott, University of Utah researcher