Explanation:
What's causing this unusual aurora over Saturn?
No one is sure.
Infrared images by the
robotic Cassini spacecraft of the north pole of Saturn
have uncovered
aurora unlike any other seen previously in
our Solar System.
The strange aurora are shown in blue in the
above image, while the underlying clouds are shown in red.
The previously recorded, also-strange
hexagon cloud patterns
are visible in red below the aurora.
These Saturnian aurora can cover the entire pole, while auroras around Earth and Jupiter are typically confined by magnetic fields to rings surrounding the magnetic poles.
More normal auroral rings had been
previously imaged around Saturn.
The recently imaged strange auroras above Saturn's
north pole can change their
global patterns significantly in only a few minutes.
The large and
variable nature
of these auroras indicate that
charged particles streaming in from the Sun
are experiencing some type of
magnetism above Saturn that was previously unexpected.
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