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The upper layer of the atmosphere of the gas giants – Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune – is hot, as is Earth. However, unlike Earth, the Sun is too far from these planets in the outer realm of the Solar System to cause such high temperatures. The phenomenon has long occupied planetary scientists.
An analysis of data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has found an explanation for the heat on Saturn, and therefore probably the heat in the upper atmosphere of the other gas giants: polar light in the northern and southern corners. of the planet could be the cause, he writes PhysOrg.com scientific-educational news portal.
What makes Saturn’s atmosphere so hot?
Electric currents generated by the interaction of the solar wind and electrically charged particles from Saturn’s moon cause light and heat the upper layer of the atmosphere. As with the northern and southern lights observed on Earth, scientists can use auroras to determine what is happening in a planet’s atmosphere.
The study, published in the scientific journal Nature Astronomy, is the first research to more fully map the temperature of a gas giant and the upper layer of its atmosphere, an area that is so poorly understood.
– Understanding the dynamics of forces requires a global vision. This is the first time, thanks to the data, that we can study the upper atmosphere from the Arctic to the Arctic and also see temperatures that change with depth, he said. Zarah Brown, the study leader, researcher at the University of Arizona.
The key to the mystery is energy.
With a complete picture of the heat flux in the atmosphere, scientists can better understand how the electrical currents of polar light heat the uppermost layer of Saturn’s atmosphere and how the winds propel it. The global wind system dissipates this energy in the direction of the equator, which was originally concentrated near the corners. This energy raises the temperature twice as hard as the Sun would.
The new knowledge explains how it is possible that the upper layer of the atmosphere is so hot while the other layers are cold due to the great distance from the Sun.
Cassini, run by NASA’s Pasadena Planetary Research Institute and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, studied Saturn for more than 13 years before depleting its fuel reserves. Aimed at the planet’s atmosphere in September 2017, the spacecraft was destroyed to protect Saturn’s moon Enceladus, which Cassini finds may be feasible. Before its destruction, Cassini made 22 close-ups of Saturn, which it delivered to Earth.
Photos: Getty Images
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