A bonus for your Labor Day weekend.
(click on images to enlarge)
From NASA/ ESA, August 30, 2018: This image is a composite of observations made of Saturn in early 2018 in the optical and of the auroras on Saturn’s north pole region, made in 2017.
In contrast to the auroras on Earth the auroras on Saturn are only visible in the ultraviolet — a part of the electromagnetic spectrum blocked by Earth’s atmosphere — and therefore astronomers have to rely on space telescopes like the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study them.
Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA, A. Simon (GSFC) and the OPAL Team, J. DePasquale (STScI), L. Lamy (Observatoire de Paris)
Now, let's flip on the ultraviolet:
From NASA/ ESA, August 30, 2018: The image, observed with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph in the ultraviolet, shows the auroras surrounding Saturn’s north pole region.
In comparing the different observations it became clear that Saturn’s auroras show a rich variety of emissions with highly variable localised features. The variability of the auroras is influenced by both the solar wind and the rapid rotation of Saturn.
Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA & L. Lamy (Observatoire de Paris)
