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Mars Base

Cassini spots daytime lightning on Saturn - 0 views

phys.org/...-daytime-lightning-saturn.html

GrabBag SaturnLightning

shared by Mars Base on 19 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • mark the first time scientists have detected lightning in visible wavelengths on the side of Saturn illuminated by the sun
  • appear brightest in the blue filter of Cassini's imaging camera on March 6, 2011
  • intensity of the flash is comparable to the strongest flashes on Earth
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • approximately 100 miles (200 kilometers) in diameter when it exits the tops of the clouds
  • scientists deduce that the lightning bolts originate in the clouds deeper down in Saturn's atmosphere where water droplets freeze
  • analogous to where lightning is created in Earth's atmosphere.
  • In one composite image, they recorded five flashes, and in another, three flashes
Mars Base

Daytime Lightning on Saturn Spotted by Cassini Spacecraft | Space.com - 0 views

www.space.com/lightning-cassini-picture.html

scibyte55 SaturnLightning cassini

shared by Mars Base on 18 Jul 12 - No Cached
  • Cassini orbiter captured the daytime lightning on Saturn as bright blue spots inside a giant storm that raged on the planet last year
  • NASA unveiled the new Saturn lightning photos Wednesday (July 18), adding that the images came as a big surprise
  • The fact that Cassini was able to detect the lightning means that it was very intense."
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  • blue filter on the spacecraft's main camera recorded the lightning flashes
  • scientists then exaggerated the blue tint in order to pin down the lightning's location and size
  • analysis of the new images revealed that the energy from the visible lightning flashes alone could have spiked up to 3 billion watts over one second
  • on par with some of the strongest lightning flashes on Earth.  
  • the lightning on Saturn was spotted across a region 100 miles (160 kilometers
  • Cassini spotted eight daytime lightning flashes on Saturn, five in one part of the storm and three in an another
  • storm wrapped completely around Saturn at its peak and is the longest-lived storm ever seen on the ringed planet. It began in December 2010 and lasted about 200 days, finally sputtering out in late June 2011
  • mystery that remains is why the daytime Saturn lightning only turned up in Cassini's blue imaging filter
  • Scientists aren't sure if that means the lightning is actually blue in color, or if it's due to a short exposure time of the camera that helps the camera filter detect the lightning
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