Saturn’s high-altitude winds generate an extraordinary aurorae, study finds
Leicester space scientists have discovered a never-before-seen mechanism fuelling huge planetary aurorae at Saturn.Saturn is unique among planets observed to date in that some of its aurorae are generated by swirling winds within its own atmosphere, and not just from the planet's surrounding magnetosphere.
When it first arrived at Saturn, Cassini tried to measure the bulk rotation rate of the planet, that determines the length of its day, by tracking radio emission 'pulses' from Saturn's atmosphere. To the great surprise of those making the measurements, they found that the rate appeared to have changed over the two decades since the last spacecraft to have flown past the planet -- Voyager 2, also operated by NASA -- in 1981.
Astronomers and planetary scientists based at the University of Leicester led a study alongside colleagues from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory , the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency , and the Universities of Wisconsin-Madison, Boston, and Lancaster, plus Imperial and University Colleges, London, to resolve the decades-old question.
"Over the years, scientific meetings have had late-night discussions about whether the volcanic moon Enceladus might be the cause, or interactions with the thick atmosphere of the moon Titan, or perhaps interactions with Saturn's bright rings. But recently, many researchers have focused on the possibility that it is Saturn's upper atmosphere that causes this variability.
Because of the variable rotation rates observed at Saturn, scientists have been prevented from using the regular pulse of radio emission to calculate the bulk internal rotation rate. Fortunately, a novel method was developed by Cassini scientists using gravity-induced perturbations in Saturn's complex ring system, which now seems to be the most accurate means of measuring the planet's bulk rotational period, which was determined in 2019 to be 10 hours, 33 minutes and 38 seconds.
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