Cassini: Belatedly Shows Us A "Burn, From A Distance, Or Freeze Nearby" Moment -- On Saturn...

I find myself looking up at the night sky. . . wondering if those we've lost [both long ago, and as recently as just last week] are out there, still -- orbiting mighty Saturn. . . or, having solved her puzzle, are they already sailing onwards? [Have they, too, figured out that the nearly-glowing, 300-plus degree heat, radiating from her upper atmosphere layers is driven by the Auroras, found at her poles?] I do wonder. . . .

In any event, here's the latest, from the Cassini mission page:

. . . .New analysis of data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft finds a viable explanation for what's keeping the upper layers of Saturn, and possibly the other gas giants, so hot: auroras at the planet's north and south poles. Electric currents, triggered by interactions between solar winds and charged particles from Saturn's moons, spark the auroras and heat the upper atmosphere. (As with Earth's northern lights, studying auroras tells scientists what's going on in the planet's atmosphere.)

The work, published April 6 in Nature Astronomy, is the most complete mapping yet of both temperature and density of a gas giant's upper atmosphere — a region that has, in general, been poorly understood.

By building a complete picture of how heat circulates in the atmosphere, scientists are better able to understand how auroral electric currents heat the upper layers of Saturn's atmosphere and drive winds. The global wind system can distribute this energy, which is initially deposited near the poles toward the equatorial regions, heating them to twice the temperatures expected from the Sun's heating alone.

"The results are vital to our general understanding of planetary upper atmospheres and are an important part of Cassini's legacy," said author Tommi Koskinen, a member of Cassini's Ultraviolet Imaging Spectograph (UVIS) team. "They help address the question of why the uppermost part of the atmosphere is so hot while the rest of the atmosphere — due to the large distance from the Sun — is cold. . . ."

It was during the Grand Finale that the key data was collected for the new temperature map of Saturn's atmosphere. . . .

Smiling now. . . at a long in coming, but public re-appearance -- of twisty copper clad goddess, one who travels with unwasted grace -- through Milton's night skies. . . silently, yet. . . effortlessly. . . . grin.

नमस्ते