Megastorms leave their mark on Saturn’s atmosphere for centuries.
Researchers have found a long-lasting megastorm. SaturnIt’s similar to JupiterThe Great Red Spot by studying radio emission and ammonia gas disturbances. The study reveals significant differences in the atmospheres between the two gas giants, challenges our current understanding of megastorms, and provides new insights that may influence future research on exoplanets. Offers.
Saturn’s Great Red Spot and New Discoveries
The largest storm in the solar system, a 10,000-mile-wide high pressure system known as the Great Red Spot, has graced Jupiter’s surface for hundreds of years.
A new study reveals that although Saturn may look more subdued than Jupiter’s colorful exterior, it also has long-lasting megastorms. These storms affect the deep atmosphere and their effects last for centuries.
Research methodology
This research was carried out by world astronomers. University of California, Berkeley, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. They studied radio emissions from Earth originating from below the surface and found long-term perturbations in the distribution of ammonia gas.
The study was published in a journal dated August 11. scientific progress.
Storm nature
Superstorms occur on Saturn about every 20 to 30 years and are similar to hurricanes on Earth, but much larger. But unlike Earth’s hurricanes, Saturn’s atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, with traces of methane, water, and ammonia, but no one knows what causes these atmospheric storms.
“Understanding the mechanics of the largest storm in the solar system will put hurricane theory into a broader cosmic context, challenging our current knowledge and pushing the boundaries of surface meteorology,” said lead author said Chen Lee, a former 51 peg b fellow at the University of California. Berkley is currently an assistant professor at the University of Michigan.
exploration and tools
Imke De Pater, professor emeritus of astronomy and earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, uses the Karl G. Jansky Super Large Array in New Mexico to study the composition and singularities of gas giant planets. He has been researching for more than 40 years to gain a deeper understanding of sex. To study radio emissions from deep within the earth.
“We use radio wavelengths to probe beneath the visible cloud layers of giant planets. Observations under these cloud layers are needed to constrain the true atmospheric composition of the atmosphere,” she said. “Radio observations help characterize dynamic, physical, and chemical processes such as heat transport, cloud formation, and convection in the atmospheres of giant planets on both global and local scales.”
surprising discovery
As reported in a new study, de Pater, Lee, and UC Berkeley graduate student Chris Mockel have discovered something surprising in the radio emissions from Earth. It was an anomaly in atmospheric ammonia gas concentration, which they linked to the occurrence of past megastorms. northern hemisphere of the earth.
Ammonia concentration and effects on atmospheric differences
Ammonia concentrations are low at intermediate altitudes, just below the uppermost ammonia ice cloud layer, but concentrated at low altitudes, 100 to 200 kilometers deep in the atmosphere, the researchers said. They believe that ammonia is transported from the upper atmosphere to the lower atmosphere via processes of precipitation and re-evaporation. Moreover, its effects can last for hundreds of years.
Comparing Saturn and Jupiter
The study also found that although both Saturn and Jupiter are made of hydrogen gas, the two gas giants are strikingly different. Jupiter has tropospheric anomalies, but they are associated with its zones (whitish bands) and belts (dark bands) and are not caused by storms like those on Saturn. The large differences between these neighboring gas giants challenge our current understanding of the formation of giant storms on gas giants and other planets. It may also influence how these storms are discovered and studied on exoplanets in the future.
Reference: Chen Li, Imke De Pater, Chris Mockel, RJ Soot, Brian Butler, David DeBoer, Jimen Chan, Long Lasting and Deep Effects of Saturn’s Megastorm, August 11, 2023. Day, scientific progress.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg9419
The National Radio Astronomical Observatory (NRAO) is a National Science Foundation facility operated under a cooperative agreement by Associated Universities Inc.