Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2021 June 27
   [2]The picture shows the Saturn in infrared light with aurora as imaged
   by the orbiting Cassini spacecraft in 2007. Please see the explanation
                       for more detailed information.

                        The Dancing Auroras of Saturn
    Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]Cassini, [5]VIMS Team, [6]U. Arizona, [7]U.
                          Leicester, [8]JPL, [9]ASI

   Explanation: What drives auroras on Saturn? To help find out,
   scientists have sorted through hundreds of infrared images of
   [10]Saturn taken by the [11]Cassini spacecraft for other purposes,
   trying to find enough aurora images to correlate changes and make
   [12]movies. Once made, some movies clearly show that [13]Saturnian
   auroras can change not only with the angle of the Sun, but also as the
   planet rotates. Furthermore, some [14]auroral changes appear related to
   waves in Saturn's [15]magnetosphere likely caused by Saturn's moons.
   [16]Pictured here, a false-colored image taken in 2007 shows Saturn in
   three bands of [17]infrared light. The [18]rings reflect relatively
   blue sunlight, while the planet itself glows in [19]comparatively low
   energy red. A band of [20]southern aurora in visible in green. In has
   recently been [21]found that auroras [22]heat Saturn's upper
   atmosphere. Understanding Saturn's auroras is a path toward a better
   understanding of [23]Earth's auroras.

                   Tomorrow's picture: paper moon eclipse
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [35]Robert Nemiroff ([36]MTU) & [37]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([38]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [39]Specific rights apply.
              [40]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [41]ASD at [42]NASA / [43]GSFC
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2106/neonsaturnaurora_cassini_2560.jpg
   3. http://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/overview/
   5. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/mission/spacecraft/cassini-orbiter/visible-and-infrared-mapping-spectrometer/
   6. https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/missions/cassini-vims
   7. https://le.ac.uk/physics
   8. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
   9. https://www.asi.it/en/
  10. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/saturn/overview/
  11. https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Cassini-Huygens/Cassini_spacecraft
  12. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzwiTspxtrg
  13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap081119.html
  14. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AmyfuJDMlY
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere
  16. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA13402
  17. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/07_infraredwaves
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160313.html
  19. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUCOEePIcAAht9h.jpg
  20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap050222.html
  21. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2020NatAs...4..872B/abstract
  22. https://www.quantamagazine.org/cassini-data-solves-jupiter-and-saturns-energy-mystery-20210622/
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap100701.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210626.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  28. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  33. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=210627
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210628.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  37. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  38. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  41. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/