Diagnosing Saturn’s Magnetic Pulse

This video describes a computer model that proposes a flow vortex in Saturn's upper atmosphere or ionosphere can explain periodic signatures observed by NASA's Cassini spacecraft in Saturn's magnetosphere. It presents an animation of the response of the magnetosphere to the flow vortex, depicting the resulting deflection (or deviation) of the magnetic field and the oscillatory or "respiratory" behavior of the large-scale magnetosphere.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C.

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech