Planet Saturn. The mysterious phenomenon known as spokes in Saturn’s rings has appeared again, surprising scientists at NASA.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, WASHINGTON — The mysterious phenomenon known as “spokes” in Saturn’s rings has appeared again, surprising scientists at NASA. This phenomenon has puzzled scientists for decades.
The first discovery of these radii occurred in 1981 by NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft. Since then, telescopes such as Cassini and Hubble have also recorded this sighting several times. The most recent event occurred in October, when Hubble spotted a dark shadow circling the planet’s rings.
According to NASA, these spokes of Saturn have a “ghostly” appearance and rotate to follow Saturn’s rings as they orbit. Although relatively small compared to Saturn’s rings, these radii have the potential to grow longer than the entire planet Earth.
Scientists suspect that this phenomenon is related to the interaction between Saturn’s magnetic field and the exposed solar wind. The theory is that the solar wind hitting Saturn’s magnetic field at millions of miles per hour could create conditions that trigger the formation of these spokes.
“The main theory is that the spokes are related to Saturn’s strong magnetic field, with some kind of solar interaction with the magnetic field producing the spokes,” said scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Amy Simon, as reported by Business InsiderFriday (29/12/2023).
Although scientists have several hypotheses, including electrostatic effects on material in Saturn’s rings that create dark shadows. However, scientists still need to observe and analyze more spokes to fully understand this phenomenon. NASA predicts more spokes will appear in the near future.
NASA predicts that as Saturn’s autumnal equinox approaches, the activity of these spokes will peak, opening up opportunities for a better understanding of the mysteries behind Saturn’s rings. Saturn’s northern hemisphere is expected to reach the autumnal equinox on May 6, 2025.
Researchers hope that with the arrival of this fall, when the solar wind is stronger and the radius activity is more intense, the mystery behind Saturn’s spokes will finally be solved after decades of this mystery puzzling the scientific community.
2023-12-29 08:16:10
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