Cassini Captures Saturn's Magnetic Bubble Exploding with Energy

First Posted: Dec 01, 2015 12:55 PM EST

Researchers are getting a closer look at the planet Saturn with the Cassini spacecraft. Now, they've found the first direct evidence for explosive releases of energy in Saturn's magnetic bubble.

The newly found explosions are produced in a process known as magnetic reconnection. This particular phenomenon also occurs on Earth and is the cause of the light displays of the Northern Lights. In this case, the researchers found evidence of magnetic reconnection occurring on Saturn.

What's interesting is that this finding may give researchers clues as to how Saturn's magnetic bubble manages to get rid of gas from Saturn's tiny moon, Enceladus. At its south pole, this tiny moon ejects about 100 kg of water into space every second in the form of jets.

"Water from the Enceladus plume is trapped in Saturn's magnetosphere," said Chris Arridge, lead author of the new study, in a news release. "We know it can't just stay there forever and until now we have not been able to work out how it has been ejected from the magnetosphere."

Previous work suggested that magnetic reconnection can't allow enough plasma to escape from the magnetosphere. Now, though, researchers know that it's possible.

The findings reveal a bit more about Jupiter's magnetosphere, which may be relevant for better understanding other rapidly spinning astrophysical systems.

The findings are published in the journal Nature Physics.

Mars May Have Acid Fog for Its Weird Weather

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

TagsSaturn, Cassini, Cassini Spacecraft, Magnetic Field, Magnetosphere, Planet, space