JPL: Flash: NASA's Cassini Sees Lightning on Saturn

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JPL: Flash: NASA's Cassini Sees Lightning on Saturn

Post by bystander » Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:55 pm

Flash: NASA's Cassini Sees Lightning on Saturn
NASA JPL Cassini 2010-129 - 14 Apr 2010
NASA's Cassini spacecraft has captured images of lightning on Saturn. The images have allowed scientists to create the first movie showing lightning flashing on another planet.

After waiting years for Saturn to dim enough for the spacecraft's cameras to detect bursts of light, scientists were able to create the movie, complete with a soundtrack that features the crackle of radio waves emitted when lightning bolts struck.
PIA12576: Lightning Flashing on Saturn
CICLOPS: Lightning Captured on Saturn

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GRL: Visible lightning imaged on Saturn

Post by bystander » Tue Jun 15, 2010 2:38 pm

Visible lightning imaged on Saturn
Geophysical Research Letters, 15 May 2010, Editors' Highlights
Lightning, common on Earth, has also been detected on Jupiter, and previous studies have reported indirect evidence for lightning on Saturn. Visible lightning has now been imaged on Saturn for the first time. Dyudina et al. report that on 17 August 2009, the Cassini spacecraft detected visible lightning flashes on Saturn. It had been difficult to get images of lightning because Saturn's nights are very bright due to its highly reflective rings shining in the sky, which make it hard to visually distinguish lightning. The recent equinox, during which most of the rings were in shadow, made it possible to image lightning flashes.

The researchers report that the lightning flashes are consistent with a single cloud flashing once per minute, and the visible energy of a single flash is comparable to that on Earth and Jupiter. They also note that the storm that produced the visible lightning had been active for nine months, much longer than storms on Earth or Jupiter. The study could help scientists better understand the formation and characteristics of lightning on Saturn and other planets.

Visible lightning imaged on Saturn

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