Saturn's Rings [
http://www.seds.org… saturn.html ] are one of the most spectacular sights in the solar system. Still, this image [
http://hubblesite.o… releases/1998/05/ ] from the Hubble Space Telescope [
http://hubblesite.o… ] offers a striking view of another kind of ring around Saturn [
http://antwrp.gsfc.… ] - pole encircling rings of ultraviolet aurora [
http://www.geo.mtu.… ]. Towering more than 1,000 miles above the cloud tops [
http://antwrp.gsfc.… ], these Saturnian auroral displays were thought to be analogous to Earth's [
http://antwrp.gsfc.… ]. But following the ebb and flow of Saturn's aurora, with the Hubble's cameras and instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft, researchers are now reporting some surprising results [
http://hubblesite.o… releases/2005/06/text/ ]. In this false-color image made in ultraviolet light [
http://imagine.gsfc… emspectrum.html ], the dramatic red aurora identify emission from atomic hydrogen [
http://pearl1.lanl.… elements/1.html ], while the more concentrated white areas are due to hydrogen molecules [
http://www.explorat… atoms_and_molecules.html ].
explanation
Saturn's Rings [ http://www.seds.org/nineplanets/nineplanets/ saturn.html ] are one of the most spectacular sights in the solar system. Still, this image [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/ releases/1998/05/ ] from the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/future/ ] offers a striking view of another kind of ring around Saturn [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040117.html ] - pole encircling rings of ultraviolet aurora [ http://www.geo.mtu.edu/weather/aurora/ ]. Towering more than 1,000 miles above the cloud tops [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041018.html ], these Saturnian auroral displays were thought to be analogous to Earth's [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970402.html ]. But following the ebb and flow of Saturn's aurora, with the Hubble's cameras and instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft, researchers are now reporting some surprising results [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/ releases/2005/06/text/ ]. In this false-color image made in ultraviolet light [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/ emspectrum.html ], the dramatic red aurora identify emission from atomic hydrogen [ http://pearl1.lanl.gov/periodic/ elements/1.html ], while the more concentrated white areas are due to hydrogen molecules [ http://www.exploratorium.edu/xref/phenomena/ atoms_and_molecules.html ].
Explanation
false