Hubble discovers that Saturn’s rings heat up its atmosphere

Observations of various missions POT show that the vast system rings Saturn this heats up the planet’s upper atmosphere, a phenomenon never seen before in the solar system.

The discovery was made possible thanks to four decades of data collected by the space telescope. Hubblethe past Cassini mission, as well as the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft and the completed International Ultraviolet Explorer mission.

This unexpected interaction between Saturn and their rings, which could potentially provide a tool for predicting whether planets around other stars also have magnificent ring systems like those Saturnaccording to a statement from POT.

unique event

A clear indication is the excess ultraviolet radiation observed in the form of a spectral line of hot hydrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere. Saturn. An increase in radiation means that something is polluting and heating the upper atmosphere from outside.

The most plausible explanation is that the ice particles of the ring rain down on the atmosphere. Saturn cause this heating. This may be due to exposure to micrometeorites, bombardment by solar wind particles, solar ultraviolet radiation, or electromagnetic forces that trap electrically charged dust. All this happens under the influence of the gravitational field. Saturn It attracts particles to the planet. When the Cassini probe POT plunged into the atmosphere Saturn at the end of his mission in 2017, he measured the components of the atmosphere and confirmed that many particles are falling from the rings.

“While the slow decay of rings is well known, their impact on the planet’s atomic hydrogen is a surprise. Since the time of the Cassini probe, we have already known about the influence of the rings. However, we knew nothing about the abundance of atomic hydrogen,” said Lotfi Ben-Jaffel of the Paris Institute of Astrophysics and the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory of the University of Arizona, author of an article published in Journal of Planetary Science.

“All this is controlled by ring particles that cascade into the atmosphere at certain latitudes. They modify the upper layers of the atmosphere, changing its composition,” said Ben-Jaffel. “And then you also have processes of collision with atmospheric gases, which probably heat up the atmosphere at a certain height.”

Ben Jaffel’s conclusion required the collection of archival ultraviolet (UV) light observations from four space missions that have studied Saturn. This includes observations from both Voyager spacecraft. POT which flew Saturn in the 1980s and measured excess UV radiation.

At the time, astronomers dismissed the measurements as noise in detectors. The Cassini mission, which reached Saturn in 2004 he also collected data on UV radiation in the atmosphere (for several years). Additional data came from Hubble and the International Ultraviolet Investigator, which was launched in 1978 as an international collaboration between NASA, ESA and the UK.

Real phenomenon?

But the unresolved question was whether all the data could be illusory or instead reflect a real phenomenon in Saturn.

The key to the puzzle was Ben-Jaffel’s decision to use Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) measurements. Hubble. Your precise observations Saturn were used to calibrate archival UV data from four other space missions that observed Saturn. He compared STIS UV observations to Saturn with light distribution from multiple instruments and space missions.

“When everything was calibrated, we clearly saw that the spectra were the same in all missions. This is possible because we have the same starting point, from Hubble, according to the rate of energy transfer from the atmosphere, measured over decades,” said Ben Jaffel. “It really came as a surprise to me. I just drew together different data about the distribution of light, and then I realized, wow, it’s the same thing.

Four decades of UV data span several solar cycles and help astronomers study the Sun’s seasonal effects on Saturn. By bringing together all the various data and calibrating it, Ben-Jaffel found that there was no difference in the level of UV radiation. “At any time, anywhere on the planet, we can monitor the level of ultraviolet radiation,” he said. This indicates constant “freezing rain” rings Saturn as the best explanation.

“We are only at the beginning of this ring characterization effect in the planet’s upper atmosphere. Ultimately we want to have a global approach that gives a real signature over atmospheres on distant worlds. One of the goals of this study is to see how we can apply this to planets orbiting other stars. Let’s call it the search for “exo-rings”. (Europe Press)

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