Suggested Searches

APOD

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Saturnian Aurora

Explanation: Saturn's Rings are one of the most spectacular sights in the solar system. Still, this image from the Hubble Space Telescope offers a striking view of another kind of ring around Saturn - pole encircling rings of ultraviolet aurora . Towering more than 1,000 miles above the cloud tops , these Saturnian auroral displays were thought to be analogous to Earth's . 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 . In this false-color image made in ultraviolet light , the dramatic red aurora identify emission from atomic hydrogen , while the more concentrated white areas are due to hydrogen molecules .

Date February 19, 2005
Credit Credit: J. Trauger ( JPL ), NASA
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U.