Hubble Telescope, Captures Image of Saturn's , Mysterious Spokes.
Fox News reports that NASA's
Hubble Space Telescope has captured
a remarkable new image of Saturn. .
According to the space agency, the images mark
the beginning of the ringed planet's "spoke season,"
which comes as it reaches its equinox.
The cause of the enigmatic spokes
has yet to be fully explained.
Fox News reports that Saturn's
tilted axis means it has
seasons just like Earth.
However, its much larger orbit means
that each of Saturn's four seasons
last for around seven Earth years.
The spokes were first observed
by NASA's Voyager mission
in the early 1980s. .
Scientists believe that the spokes are
caused by the planet's magnetic field,
however, this has yet to be proven.
Despite years of excellent observations
by the Cassini mission, the precise beginning
and duration of the spoke season is still
unpredictable, rather like predicting
the first storm during hurricane season, Amy Simon, NASA senior planetary scientist head of the Hubble
Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, via Fox News.
Fox News reports that the last time Saturn
experienced an equinox was in 2009, when the
Cassini spacecraft was orbiting the massive gas giant.
It's a fascinating magic trick
of nature we only see on Saturn
– for now at least, Amy Simon, NASA senior planetary scientist head of the Hubble
Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, via Fox News
