Saturn's dynamic aurorae 1 (Jan 28, 2004)
This is a single image from a sequence of three aurora images.
Astronomers combined ultraviolet images of Saturn's southern polar region with visible-light images of the planet and its rings to make this picture. The auroral display appears blue because of the glow of ultraviolet light. In reality, the aurora would appear red to an observer at Saturn because of the presence of glowing hydrogen in the atmosphere. On Earth, charged particles from the Sun collide with nitrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere, creating auroral displays colored mostly green and blue.
The ultraviolet image was taken on Jan. 28, 2004 by Hubble's Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph. Erich Karkoschka of the University of Arizona, USA used the telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys on March 22, 2004 to take the visible-light image.
Credit:About the Image
Id: | heic0504d |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 16 February 2005, 20:00 |
Related releases: | heic0504 |
Size: | 2261 x 1696 px |
About the Object
Name: | Saturn |
Type: | Solar System : Planet : Type : Gas Giant Solar System : Planet : Feature : Atmosphere : Aurora |
Category: | Solar System |
Wallpapers
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical B | 439 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical Oiii | 502 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Ultraviolet |
Hubble Space Telescope
STIS | |
Optical V | 550 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical H-alpha | 658 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |