Seasonal spots on Saturn’s rings have already begun to intensify in Hubble telescope images. The phenomenon occurs when the giant planet is close to its equinox, for reasons still unknown.
Similar to rays (hence the nickname “spokes”, which in English means “rays”), the spots were first observed in 1981, by Voyager 2. Since then, NASA has been monitoring the rings to learn more about them.
Monitoring has already revealed that the number and contrast of rays vary depending on Saturn’s seasons. Furthermore, the spokes they rotate together with the rings and last two or three rotations around the planet. During this period, new spots gradually appear on the set.
According to Amy Simon, from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, scientists were already expecting a peak, with spokes darker and in greater quantity, as Saturn is approaching its equinoxa period in which telescopes detect greater activity.
By monitoring the period of greatest activity, NASA hopes to gain information to discover how the spots form. “The main theory is that spokes are linked to Saturn’s powerful magnetic field.”says Simon.
Close to the equinox, Saturn’s rings assume a less inclined position in relation to the sun, allowing the planet’s magnetic field to be hit by solar winds with greater impacts. Perhaps the electrostatic forces in this interaction move the ice in Saturn’s rings, causing the appearance of the mysterious spots.
This is just a hypothesis to be tested — which does not explain the shape of the rays. Either way, Hubble’s continued observations could help figure out what really happens in Saturn’s rings near the equinox.
In February this year, Hubble had already captured the mysterious ghostly “rays”, which appear dark from above, although they appear bright from below.
As the year comes to an end, let’s remember some of the discoveries made in 2023 about the planet’s fantastic rings:
1. Rings are much newer than we thought…
…And there are 62 more moons, a record in our Solar System.
An investigation, published in the magazine Science Advancessuggests that Saturn’s rings are no more than 400 million years old, making them significantly younger than the planet itself, which is about 4.5 billion years old.
To determine the age of the rings, researchers focused on studying the dust accumulation in Saturn’s rings.
They discovered that dust grains coming from outside the planet’s neighborhood are deposited in the ice that makes up the rings over time.
By analyzing dust particles collected by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft between 2004 and 2017, the team estimated that the rings have been accumulating dust for just a few years. hundreds of millions of years.
2. Unexpected event
Saturn’s rings have been doing something to the planet that scientists never expected. A new study reveals that they are Warm its atmosphere.
Interestingly, a NASA team says this is a scenario that astronomers have never seen before in our solar system.
3. Goodbye, Saturn’s rings
Saturn’s rings can be observed by anyone, as long as they have basic astronomical material in their possession. But what you probably don’t know is that this vision has an expiration date: 2025.
In 17 months, Saturn’s rings will disappear… at least from images. Due to the planet’s tilt in its orbit around the Sun, its iconic rings will be perfectly aligned with our line of sight, disappearing from view.
2023-12-31 20:10:00
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