Astronomers have discovered that the mighty winds at Saturn's north pole power its aurora lights inside its atmosphere.
The planet's magnetic field is dragged by electrically charged ions carried by the winds, which cycle through two huge vortexes near the planet's north pole.
The mechanism, according to researchers, is powered by energy from Saturn's thermosphere. In the meanwhile, ionosphere wind speeds may exceed three kilometers per second.
For decades, astronomers have been unable to measure a day on Saturn due to a mysterious occurrence.
Scientists have published the study, "Saturn's Weather-Driven Aurorae Modulate Oscillations in the Magnetic Field and Radio Emissions," in the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Research Letters to aid other specialists in solving the strange occurrence.
Jupiter's Magnetic Field Drags Wind at the Planet's North Pole
When NASA's Cassini probe initially arrived at Saturn, it tried to calculate the planet's bulk rotation rate by tracking radio emission "pulses" from its atmosphere. Scientists could calculate the length of the ringed planet's days if they did this.
The rate seemed to have altered since NASA's Voyager 2, the previous spacecraft to fly by Saturn, recorded data in 1981, much to the amazement of NASA's ground crew. The scientists find it more difficult to calculate the precise duration of a day on the sixth planet from the Sun.
Study co-author James O'Donoghue, a planetary scientist at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, explained that the radio bursts in Jupiter come in regular pulses.
An artist rendering of the Cassini spacecraft entering orbit around Saturn. The two-story, $3.4 billion spacecraft carrying a load of deadly plutonium will zoom within 725 miles of Earth August 17, 1999 to gain momentum for the final leg of its meandering, seven-year voyage to Saturn. Cassini's return, two years after NASA launched the largest and most expensive unmanned spacecraft ever, poses virtually no risk, mission officials say. The probe will approach Earth at about 35,000 mph. Its speed will increase by about 11,000 mph after the swingby.
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"For Saturn, this rotation period has weirdly drifted over time, confusing the heck out of everyone," he told Business Insider. "Even weirder, the rotation period of the planet has drifted independently in the north and the south."
Late-night chats amongst scientists resulted in a flurry of hypotheses. Saturn's magnetic field may have slowed when it traveled through lava and gaseous eruptions on its moon Enceladus. Perhaps the dense methane atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan - even the rings themselves - are to blame.
All of the notions were shown to be incorrect. Saturn's auroras were fueled by electrically charged wind, which also dragged its magnetic field along the way.
Powerful Wind-Driven Aurora Borealis Found in Jupiter
Thankfully, scientists could measure the duration of a Saturn day in 2019 using a novel approach to support their claim. The days were measured at 10 hours, 33 minutes, and 38 seconds using gravity-induced disturbances in Saturn's ring system.
The new research explains why measuring Saturn's days was so difficult. It's connected to the process that causes the planet's distinctive sort of aurorae.
Dr. Tom Stallard, Associate Professor of Planetary Astronomy at the University of Leicester, said aurorae on Earth are fueled by interactions with the stream of charged particles pushed by the Sun.
" I love that the name Aurora Borealis originates from the 'the Dawn of the Northern Wind," Stallard said in a statement.
Saturn features a genuine Aurora Borealis, the first-ever aurora caused by the winds in a planet's atmosphere, according to these measurements.
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