NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has observation time devoted to Saturn each year, thanks to the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, and the vibrant gas giant world always reveals us something brand-new. The spokes are enigmatic features that appear throughout Saturns rings. Their presence and appearance differs with the seasons– like Earth, Saturn is slanted on its axis and therefore has 4 seasons. Its thought they are ring product that is momentarily charged and levitated by interaction between Saturns magnetic field and the solar wind, however this hypothesis has not been confirmed.
Scientists will be searching for clues to describe the cause and nature of the spokes. Its presumed they are caused by interaction in between Saturns electromagnetic field and the solar wind, which likewise triggers aurorae to appear on earth. The hypothesis is that spokes are the tiniest, dust-sized, icy ring particles being momentarily electrically charged and levitated, but this has actually not been verified.
Saturns last equinox took place in 2009, while the NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini spacecraft was orbiting the gas giant planet for close-up reconnaissance. With Cassinis objective finished in 2017, Hubble is continuing the work of long-lasting monitoring of modifications on Saturn and the other external worlds.
For more on this subject, see Saturns Rings Are Acting Strange.
NASAs Hubble Space Telescope has observation time dedicated to Saturn each year, thanks to the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, and the dynamic gas giant planet constantly reveals us something new. This most current image heralds the start of Saturns “spoke season” with the appearance of 2 smudgy spokes in the B ring, on the left in the image. Credit: Science: NASA, ESA, Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC), Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI).
Each year, the Hubble Space Telescope has observation time devoted to Saturn, thanks to the Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, and the dynamic gas giant world always reveals us something brand-new. This newest image declares the start of Saturns “spoke season” with the look of 2 smudgy spokes in the B ring, on the left in the image.
The spokes are enigmatic functions that appear throughout Saturns rings. Their existence and appearance differs with the seasons– like Earth, Saturn is tilted on its axis and therefore has four seasons. With Saturns much bigger orbit, each season lasts approximately seven Earth years. Equinox takes place when the rings are slanted edge-on to the Sun and marks the height of spokes presence, while throughout a solstice when the Sun is at its highest or lowest latitude, the spokes disappear.
The ephemeral functions do not last long, but as the planets autumnal equinox approaches on May 6, 2025, more will appear. Its thought they are ring product that is temporarily charged and levitated by interaction between Saturns magnetic field and the solar wind, but this hypothesis has not been verified.
The shape and shading of spokes differs– they can appear dark or light, depending on the seeing angle, and sometimes appear more like blobs than classic radial spoke shapes, as seen here. The ephemeral features dont last long, however as the planets autumnal equinox approaches on May 6, 2025, more will appear.