.jpg)
The energy source has long been one of the grand mysteries of the solar system, with a solution remaining elusive for some time. However, this monumental puzzle has recently been deciphered by astronomers and published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
Through the analysis of data collected from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, it was revealed that the atmospheric heating of Saturn is caused by an intense aurora phenomenon at its southern and northern poles. The electric currents generated by the interaction between solar winds and charged particles stimulate atoms and molecules within the vast atmosphere layer of these massive gas giants. Subsequently, this energy source is distributed throughout the planet via air currents.
This mechanism answers the question of why the upper region of the atmosphere is so intensely heated, while the remaining part of the atmosphere layer remains cold, seemingly contradictory to Saturn’s greater distance from the Sun.
The temperature of the upper atmospheric layers was measured by observing the light refraction from bright stars within the constellations Orion and Canis Major, at the edge of Saturn’s atmosphere during the Cassini spacecraft’s flight.
This enabled scientists to determine the density of the atmospheric layer, which decreases with altitude, but the rate of decrease is temperature-dependent. As it turns out, the temperature reaches its maximum near the planet’s auroral regions.