Neon Saturn (APOD 27 June 2007)
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Neon Saturn (APOD 27 June 2007)
Curious about today's APOD. Is the infrared Heat indicated in the image a product of solar heating or is it a naturally occuring phenomonon of Saturn?
The image of the dark side almost resembles a Brown Dwarf
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070627.html
The image of the dark side almost resembles a Brown Dwarf
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070627.html
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In the first line of the explanation, there is a link with the words "composite image".
Here are two quotes from that link.
On the night side (right side of image), with no sunlight, Saturn's own thermal radiation lights things up.
At 5.1 microns (shown in red), reflected sunlight is weak and thus light from the planet is dominated by thermal (i.e., heat) radiation that wells up from the planet's deep atmosphere.
Here are two quotes from that link.
On the night side (right side of image), with no sunlight, Saturn's own thermal radiation lights things up.
At 5.1 microns (shown in red), reflected sunlight is weak and thus light from the planet is dominated by thermal (i.e., heat) radiation that wells up from the planet's deep atmosphere.
Making mistakes since 1950.
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Re: APOD 06-27-07
Essentially, everything on planets besides nuclear (and perhaps certain chemical) reactions is a product of solar heating.BMAONE23 wrote:or is it a naturally occuring phenomonon of Saturn?
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Re: APOD 06-27-07
I expect the source of Saturn's radiation is gravitational.makc wrote:Essentially, everything on planets besides nuclear (and perhaps certain chemical) reactions is a product of solar heating.
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I think actually just residual heat of accretion from Saturn's formation. Saturn and Jupiter both are surprisingly strong emitter's of infrared, and if I remember right, this was pegged as the cause.
"Any man whose errors take ten years to correct is quite a man." ~J. Robert Oppenheimer (speaking about Albert Einstein)
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If it is Exothermic Heating, I would think this could be proven through examination of relative temperature differences remaining stable. The mean temperature of the night side should gradually decrease as the night side extends back toward the day side.
If it is artifact from formation then there should be a gradual cooling from prior years/decades observation.
If it is Endothermic Heating, It should remain indestinguishablly constant since the first recorded observation. (That is unless there is still a gradual cooling process underway)
If it is artifact from formation then there should be a gradual cooling from prior years/decades observation.
If it is Endothermic Heating, It should remain indestinguishablly constant since the first recorded observation. (That is unless there is still a gradual cooling process underway)
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At the risk of exposing my ignorance, let me ask a question.
I was impressed by the extraordinary detail in the dark side infrared image. If the heating is endothermic, wouldn't there be more uniformity in IR radiation? I am assuming that endothermic heating would originate from the core of the planet.
I was impressed by the extraordinary detail in the dark side infrared image. If the heating is endothermic, wouldn't there be more uniformity in IR radiation? I am assuming that endothermic heating would originate from the core of the planet.
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