abel
20th January 2011, 08:49 AM
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1101/saturnestorm_dauvergnecassini_c.jpg
Explanation: Late last year, a new, remarkably bright storm erupted (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/112507364.html) in Saturn's northern hemisphere. Amateur astronomers (http://alpo-j.asahikawa-med.ac.jp/Latest/Saturn.htm) first spotted it in early December, with the ringed gas giant rising in planet Earth's predawn sky. Orbiting Saturn (http://www.ciclops.org/ir_index/133/In_Orbit), the Cassini spacecraft was able to record this close-up of the complex disturbance (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/28/a-saturnian-storm-larger-than-worlds/) from a distance of 1.8 million kilometers on December 24th. Over time, the storm has evolved (http://astrosurf.com/planetessaf/saturne/saturn_2010-NTrZ-storm.html), spreading substantially in longitude, and now stretches (http://saturn.cstoneind.com/) far around the planet. Saturn's (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Saturn&Display=OverviewLong) thin rings are also seen slicing across this space-based (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071023.html) view, casting broad shadows on the planet's southern hemisphere.
Explanation: Late last year, a new, remarkably bright storm erupted (http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/112507364.html) in Saturn's northern hemisphere. Amateur astronomers (http://alpo-j.asahikawa-med.ac.jp/Latest/Saturn.htm) first spotted it in early December, with the ringed gas giant rising in planet Earth's predawn sky. Orbiting Saturn (http://www.ciclops.org/ir_index/133/In_Orbit), the Cassini spacecraft was able to record this close-up of the complex disturbance (http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/12/28/a-saturnian-storm-larger-than-worlds/) from a distance of 1.8 million kilometers on December 24th. Over time, the storm has evolved (http://astrosurf.com/planetessaf/saturne/saturn_2010-NTrZ-storm.html), spreading substantially in longitude, and now stretches (http://saturn.cstoneind.com/) far around the planet. Saturn's (http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Saturn&Display=OverviewLong) thin rings are also seen slicing across this space-based (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071023.html) view, casting broad shadows on the planet's southern hemisphere.