Hubble captured the image on July 4, when the giant planet was 839 million miles from Earth, according to a NASA statement released Thursday.
It shows what summer is like in Saturn’s northern hemisphere, which points towards Earth, and a slight reddish haze can be seen over the area.
Scientists say this may be the result of warming due to increased sunlight, which could affect circulation or the ice content of the atmosphere.
Another possibility is that more sunlight causes changes in the amount of photochemical turbidity.
“It is surprising that even in a few years, we are seeing seasonal changes on Saturn,” said lead researcher Amy Simon of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
Look closely at the photo and you will notice a blue hue at the south pole, which is due to changes in the planet’s winter atmosphere.
You can also see two of Saturn’s moons in the image: Mimas on the right and Enceladus at the bottom.
The image is part of a project called Legacy of Outer Planet Atmospheres (OPAL), which aims to improve our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and evolution on gas giant planets like Saturn and Jupiter.
OPAL scientists are investigating weather patterns and storms on Saturn, with several small atmospheric storms observed in this photo.
The image is also sharp enough to show how the color of certain bands changes slightly each year. Saturn is largely yellow-brown in color due to the fact that the atmosphere is primarily hydrogen and helium with traces of ammonia, methane, water vapor, and hydrocarbons.
You can also see Saturn’s famous rings in incredible detail.
They consist mainly of pieces of ice, but no one really understands how and when they formed.
Many scientists believe they are over 4 billion years old, the same age as Saturn, but others say they only emerged a few hundred million years ago, when dinosaurs walked the Earth.
In April, Hubble celebrated 30 years in space, during which time its images have contributed to a series of exciting discoveries.
Hubble has allowed astronomers around the world to study black holes, mysterious dark energy, distant galaxies, and galactic mergers.
He has observed planets outside our solar system and where they form around stars, star formation, and death, and has even seen previously unknown moons around Pluto.
Not bad for a telescope that was only designed to last 15 years.
CNN’s Ashley Strickland contributed to this article.
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