An Odd Aurora over the Great Hexagon on Saturn

[SiberianTiger]

Saturn has its own unique brand of aurora that lights up the polar cap, unlike any other planetary aurora known in our solar system. This odd aurora revealed itself to one of the infrared instruments on NASA's Cassini spacecraft.

http://www.saturndaily.com/reports/Cassini_Finds_Mysterious_New_Aurora_On_Saturn_999.html

 

[tblaxland]

Cassini just keeps on amazing us, doesn't it?

 

[Andy44]

Saturn is a creepy place. First there was those sound effects from the magnetic field and then came the Great Hexagon. Awesome stuff.

 

[ryan]

I wont be surprised if other atmospheric planets have auroas, earth, jupiter and now saturn, now only left is mars, neptune, uranus, and other atmospheric moons.

 

[Linguofreak]

But aurorae depend on a magnetic field too...

 

[tblaxland]

But aurorae depend on a magnetic field too...

Aurora have been seen on Venus, which has effectively no planetary magnetic field. The auroras there are caused by direct interaction of the solar wind with the atmosphere and therefore don't necessarily occur at the poles.

 

[Andy44]

Without a magnetic field to concentrate the solar particles at the poles, that must be a really powerful solar wind to create an aurora!

 

[Woo482]

what are we going to find next on Saturn ? I think a giant hexagon was enough