Friday, November 28, 2008

A New Saturn Mystery

Saturn, like Earth, has an aurora. Aurorae are caused by charged particles that upon nearing a planet are captured and funneled toward the poles by the planet's magnetic field. When the particles hit the atmosphere, they knock electrons from atoms. When they recombine and excite an atom it causes the air to emit emission lines that are visible. Recent Cassini images have captured an aurora across a broader region of Saturn than ever seen before. Scientists are unsure of why this may be. This interesting new event will lead astronomers and physicists to new discoveries about Saturn and its magnetosphere. For further reading and a beautiful infrared image click here.

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