Asset Publisher

The Aurorae on Saturn

The Aurorae on Saturn


Depicts: Saturn
Copyright: J.T. Trauger (JPL), J.T. Clarke (Univ. of Michigan), the WFPC2science team, and NASA

This is the first image ever taken of bright aurorae at Saturn's northern and southern poles, as seen in far ultraviolet light by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 aboard the Hubble Space Telescope.

The aurora is produced as trapped charged particles precipitating from the magnetosphere collide with atmospheric gases -- molecular and atomic hydrogen in Saturn's case. As a result of the bombardment, Saturn's gases glow at far-ultraviolet wavelengths (110-160 nanometers) which are absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere, and so can only be observed from space-based telescopes.

Last Update: 1 September 2019
View »
21-Dec-2024 17:47 UT

ShortUrl Portlet

Shortcut URL

https://sci.esa.int/s/8dqlx3A

Latest Selection

Also Available As

Related Images

Related Videos

Caption & Press Release

Related Publications

Related Links

See Also

Documentation